


One Night

by Rukosband



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, Iruka has some PTSD, Itachi shows up for like five minutes, Kotetsu/Izumo - Freeform, M/M, Referenced Kotetsu/Izumo/Iruka, The Namekaze's are alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-02-04 12:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18604432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rukosband/pseuds/Rukosband
Summary: Iruka finds himself waking up in a stranger's bed - not his usual routine - but he's enraptured by the mystery man despite not knowing anything about him or how he wound up in bed with him. But one night stands were only meant to be one night stands and Iruka had no desire in pursuing a relationship with anyone - no matter how many times he's asked. He just isn't ready to put his heart in someone else's hands again and yet, this chance encounter turns into two, then three, and suddenly it feels like fate has other ideas for them.





	1. A Morning of Firsts

Being disoriented was a nauseating feeling. Even more so when Iruka didn't recognize his surroundings... or the arm slung over his midsection. He blinked away the bleariness and pushed the growing headache out of his mind as there were more pressing matters at hand. _Where in the hell am I?_

Iruka tried to slide out of the bed but the body up against his back stirred and the arm tightened its hold. Suppressing a sigh of frustration, Iruka first observed his environment. The room was plain, nothing hung on the bare white walls, there was simple cheap furniture that definitely came in a box, and there was a small flat-screen TV on an empty TV stand across from the bed. There were three doors: one had to be a closet, the other a bathroom judging by the tile flooring that was just visible past the slightly ajar door, and the last, either the bedroom door, or the way out.

A ceiling fan turned on its lowest setting, just enough to create a dull hum as it blew a whisper of a breeze. It was just strong enough to sway a few loose strands of hair and tickle his face.

Iruka couldn't decide if he was in an apartment or a hotel, but either way, it looked hardly lived in. There weren’t any personal touches that one expects to see in a bedroom and there was an open suitcase in the corner that suggested his bed partner was currently living out of.

And speaking of which…

Iruka craned his neck around as far as he could but whoever was sleeping behind him had their head buried between his back and the pillows. He studied what he could see and judging by the curvature of arm muscles and the soreness Iruka was feeling in his hips, he deduced that his partner was male and definitely played the top role. Not a surprise - Iruka had been in the mood for someone to fuck him after the stress he'd built up in the last few weeks and it seemed he'd been successful in his search. What _was_ a surprise was that not only was he still in bed with the stranger well past morning, but he couldn't remember a damn thing. He made it a rule never to stay - the one night stand would begin and end at night. But it seemed he'd broken his rule in his drunken stupor and now had to deal with the awkwardness of post-sex mornings with strangers.

The longer he laid there silently cursing drunk him for putting himself in this position, the more awkward the moment was going to be so he made the decision to slip away while he could and hoped his walk of shame stayed private and contained. Iruka moved the arm off of him, which had been easier than he predicted, and slid out of the sheets. He winced as he stood, his hips and ass sending not-so-subtle reminders of what happens when he doesn't play bottom for long periods of time. It wasn’t exactly like he had a partner (or part _ners_ ) to fool around with anymore and the last two people he’d slept with had been women. Being the receiver with a random guy was honestly only when the mood struck him. And last night, he’d definitely been in the mood.

The person behind him shifted and when Iruka looked over his shoulder he saw the man now laying on his stomach, arms buried under pillows and face sandwiched between two. He could just barely make out their hair and it looked gray in color. Iruka frowned. _Great, I slept with someone’s grandpa._ He tried to stay away from older men and women - the generation gap just made things weird and he found a lot of the older people who hit on him to have kinks Iruka just wasn't willing to partake in.

He raked his eyes over the body again and had to rethink his assumption. The man's back was well defined - muscles were distractingly sculpted and the fair skin was near flawless - the only blemishes was the typical freckle here or there, a few thin sliver scars, and a fading bruise on his left side ribcage. Whoever this was, they either worked out or had a physically demanding job. But still: that silvery gray hair. The body said someone much younger than grandpa status, maybe middle aged at most. Either he was in his forties and grayed early or the hair was dyed and he'd slept with someone age appropriate. Either way, Iruka couldn't recall a damn thing.

He returned his attention to the clothing scattered on the floor and pilfered through the small piles until he found what was his and began dressing. His clothes reeked of sweat and alcohol - standard after a night at the club. He just hoped the smells were reined in enough for other people not to smell him.

“Leaving so soon?”

Iruka jumped at the first spoken word and his muscles and head protested violently. He grimaced, partially at the throb of pain from his hangover and partially at being caught. “Yeah, sorry, it's… pretty late.” He twisted around to face the source of the velvety voice, cracking his eyes open and forcing a smile. “I went out with friends and I don't remember telling them that I left. I'm sure they're worried.” As far as he was concerned, it was the truth and being as he was a terrible liar there was no need to fake it, but he was stunned nonetheless at the sight before him.

He took in the man who was now sitting, (Iruka hadn't even heard him move), a knee drawn up and waist thankfully hidden under the sheets. An elbow was propped on said knee and chin resting in his palm. His silver hair was a mess and the face that smiled softly at him was hot - no - drop dead gorgeous. Definitely someone more age appropriate (but then again, looks could be deceiving) but Iruka had to admit that blackout drunk him had excellent tastes. The front of the man was even more defined: taut muscles on a lithe frame, a finely sculpted chest and abdomen. As he raked his eyes back up to the stranger's face, he absorbed the high cheekbones and straight nose, the oddly stormy gray eye he first mistook as a faded blue, and the other eye that was closed, completing the straight scar that ran down from silver eyebrow to right above his lips. A small beauty mark adorned the same side as his scar on his chin, somehow adding to his overall attractiveness.

He hoped his staring hadn't been obvious because the man seemed to smirk knowingly at him. “Maa, you mentioned that you were going to message them, though I don't know if you actually did,” that creamy voice spoke again. Iruka could listen to an audiobook of that voice and never tire of it.

Iruka grinned, aware that it was strained but he couldn't pull a better smile at the moment, and rubbed his arm nervously. “Yeah, I can't remember if I did or not. I usually let them know when I'm leaving and when I get home.” He winced as he looked at the man. There was no point in hiding his need to leave. “I… I also don't like staying the night, so I should get going.”

The man smirked, his body jostling slightly from the action. “You mentioned that last night as well. I believe you said something along the lines of, _‘I need to go. I don’t stay for one-night-stands.’_ Right before you passed out.”

Iruka pulled a face, squeezing his eyes shut at the harshness of his own words. “Sorry. But I do prefer to sleep in my own bed.” He glanced at the bed he had slept in and really shouldn’t complain. It was large, probably queen sized, maybe a king, with the dark sheets strewn about and plenty of pillows. The bed seemed like the only thing the man spent money on.

“I understand. But it seemed like you needed the sleep.” He scratched at the side of his head, leaning into his fingers and revealing a tattoo on his upper arm. It was a simple design, something abstract but minimalist. It looked strikingly similar to the city’s symbol the way the lines swirled and Iruka wondered if the man was from the city.

“Yes, well,” Iruka began patting down his pants, only finding his wallet. “I’ve had a few stressful weeks.” He left it at that and started a search with his eyes for his phone.

The man finished scratching his head, smiling up at him again. There was a leer in his tone as he spoke again. “Maa, well, I hope last night helped relieve some of that stress.”

Iruka pulled his lips back and made a sound, and in doing so, made lying all the more impossible. He looked at the man with whom he had slept with and bit his bottom lip. “Actually… I don’t remember any of it.” The smile faltered as Iruka went on. “I apologize, but to be honest, I don’t even remember meeting you last night.”

The man was now frowning. “Maa, I should be the one apologizing. I hadn’t realized you were that drunk. Now I feel like an ass for taking advantage of you.”

Iruka waved his apology away. “It’s alright. I don’t usually get this wasted and I’ve been told that I stay fairly composed when I am. Besides, it isn’t like I wasn’t looking for someone to have sex with.”

The man’s smirking returned only this time his eye had a grin to it. “Well, if you’d like, I can give you the rundown. You should at least know that you enjoyed it. Well, as far as I could tell you did.”

Iruka felt his face heat. “No, that’s okay. You don’t need to tell me.” He really didn’t want to know how desperate he had been.

His one night stand chuckled low in his chest and it only made Iruka want to further like him. But he couldn’t. One night stands were only that.

Iruka glanced around the room again and decided to ask, “You wouldn’t happen to know where my cell phone is, would you?”

The man frowned and shook his need. “No, but I could call it if you’d like.”

“No, that’s alright. It’s probably on silent anyways.” He wasn’t going to fall for it - giving the man his number even if it was to help him locate the phone. Iruka was drawing a clear line on where their relationship ended. “I hope I didn’t leave it somewhere,” Iruka said more to himself.

The man left the bed, drawing Iruka’s attention to his bare hips and long legs. The muscles there stretched and contracted as the man walked to his suitcase and began dressing without any shame, as if this was a normal occurrence to him. “You had it in the car if that helps,” he answered to ease Iruka’s search. He had pulled on a pair of dark blue boxer briefs and a black tank top and was in the process of stepping into jeans. Fuck… he was hot.

Iruka had to tear his gaze away and let the man dress in privacy so he could focus on his search. So he’d had his phone on the car ride here but had they taken an Uber or a personal car? He honestly wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Iruka sunk to his knees and rummaged through the leftover discarded clothing but found nothing until a shadow caught his eye. He bent down and saw the familiar black rectangle under the bed and reached for it. Sitting back on his heels, Iruka pushed his loose hair back and tried the power button. A dead battery symbol flashed on the screen before going dark again. He sighed and looked up at his companion who was watching him blankly, now fully dressed in black skinny jeans and a loose plain navy blue tee shirt. “You wouldn’t happen to have a phone charger I can borrow, would you?”

The man walked past and stopped at his nightstand, pulling the drawer open. “What kind do you need?”

“Uh,” Iruka glanced at the charge port. “USB-C.”

The silvery-haired man pulled out a cord and held it out. “Will this do?”

Iruka got to his feet and took it, comparing the port with the cable. “Yes, thank you.”

The man smirked. “Not a problem.” He rubbed his neck. “Would you like something to eat?”

“Uh… well… I…”

“I get it. But just until your phone charges.”

Considering how Iruka had been attempting to leave as quickly as possible, this man was being awfully considerate. “I would take you up on your offer, but I don’t think my stomach can handle much right now.”

The man laughed, nothing hearty, just amused, but it was a rich sound. “That bad of a hangover, huh?” He moved to one of the doors that wasn’t the bathroom and opened it, motioning for Iruka to head out.

Iruka ducked his head and skittered by, his cheeks feeling warm. “I’m sorry. My stomach is not at its best.”

“It’s fine,” the man chuckled. “I’ve been there more times than I can count. How about some toast then?”

Iruka scratched at the scar across his face; a nervous habit he knew he had. “If it’s not too much trouble,” he answered shyly.

“Not at all.” He moved past and into the kitchen where he began taking out a plate.

Iruka tried to ignore his now host and instead focused on the apartment, not hotel he decided. More plain walls, a small space with a joined dining area and living room and glass doors to an outdoor patio that currently had the blinds half drawn. There was a small two-person table with a set of chairs for furniture and that was it. It was a rather barren apartment.

Iruka glanced at the gym bag by the entrance, noting the set of sneakers both new and falling apart kicked along the wall and a pair of nice dress shoes. His host sure lived very minimalist.

After he found an outlet, he plugged his phone in and set it on the counter before taking an awkward seat at the table.

The man was shaking a steel tumbler after pouring some powder and water in and as the toaster popped, he moved to his fridge. “Would you like… uh… hm…” He lifted his head out of the fridge and looked at him. “All I have his butter.”

Iruka chuckled - he couldn’t help it. “That’s fine.”

He removed a few things from the shelf and went back to his counters, putting his shaken drink down and plucking the bread out from the toaster. Iruka heard the standard sound of a knife dragging on toasted bread and then the man was searching through his cabinets. “Would you like sugar or some cinnamon for your toast?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Oh, uhh… cinnamon would be nice. Thank you,” he blushed and tucked some of the hair out of his face.

“I figured plain buttered toast isn’t all that appealing,” he answered, placing the plate out in front of him. “And this,” he flourished and placed a bottle out as well, “is for your hangover.”

Iruka looked up at him and then grabbed the bottle. “Pedialyte?” he read out loud.

“Yep,” he smiled and took the seat opposite Iruka. “The magic cure-all for a bad night of drinking.”

Iruka snickered. “I wouldn’t know if it was a bad night.” He was finding the man easy to talk to and knew he shouldn’t be swept up in his charm but it was becoming increasingly more difficult not to.

His host laughed and tipped his tumbler his way. “I can still give you the play-by-play if you’d like.”

He went red. He knew he had to have because the man’s grin widened. “Th-that’s okay. I don’t need to know how stupid my drunk ass actually was.” Iruka nervously nibbled on the toast in the hopes of avoiding any more conversation.

The man took a swig of his drink and licked his lips. “Well _I_ thoroughly enjoyed it and I believe you did as well if what you said, and I quote, _“the best sex you’ve ever had,”_ was the truth.”

Iruka was mortified. He whined into his hands, wishing he could crawl into a hole and die.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Maa, you didn’t say anything like that.” He grinned at Iruka, showing teeth at he pouted. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Feel free to yell at me if I go too far.”

Iruka shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s my own fault for drinking as much as I had and now I’m imposing on you.”

The man shrugged. “I’d hardly call this imposing.”

Silence filled the time between them, Iruka nibbling his toast and the man taking mouthfuls of whatever his drink was.

“Um…” Iruka fidgeted in his seat, feeling the heat of his embarrassment flush his face. “I apologize, but um… would you mind telling me your name? I feel awful for not knowing it.”

The man flashed him another grin and extended his hand. “Kakashi.”

Iruka took the invitation and shook it. “Iruka.”

“Well, Iruka, how is your toast?”

The sound of his name coming out of those seemingly soft lips sped his heart up. “It’s good, thank you.”

Kakashi shrugged. “It’s toast.” He played with the lip of drink container, only the one eye open while the other remained closed. Iruka wondered if the eye was permanently scarred shut or if he was just that good at controlling the muscles of his face. Asking would be too rude and he avoided staring at it altogether. He knew how annoying it could when people questioned facial scars. His own was right on display across his face.

“So what do you do, Iruka?” Kakashi asked, seemingly comfortable with conversation.

Iruka swallowed the last bite of toast and washed it down with the Pedialyte. He hesitated in answering. Anonymous sex with strangers was supposed to remain anonymous. Talking about personal subjects made things more friendly and casual and Iruka wasn’t looking for casual. But he supposed basic talking points like work was acceptable enough; especially since he seemed to be furthering himself in debt to the man.

“I teach Math and Literary Arts to middle schoolers,” he answered honestly.

“A teacher?” Iruka nodded. Kakashi leaned back, impressed. “That takes some serious patience. I find kids at that age to be the worst.”

“They do try my patience.”

Kakashi smirked. “I don’t blame you for needing to cut loose at the club. Kids can be little hell spawns.”

Iruka chuckled with him. “Yes, they can be. But with the school year ending in a couple months and spring break just starting, they’ve been exceptionally worse.”

“But you enjoy it, right?”

Iruka nodded, smiling to himself as he picked at the label of his hangover cure. “I do. I was nervous at first, wondering if I could get kids to like me, but it’s turned out better than I would have thought.”

“That’s good. So long as you love what you do, it isn’t work. Or so they say,” Kakashi added.

Iruka studied him a moment, wondering what this man could possibly do before he worked up the nerve to ask. “And you, Kakashi? What is it that you do?”

Kakashi hummed, contemplating his answer. “I sort of wander. Travel a lot. Pop in on my family’s farm estate to make sure the land is being appropriately used.”

“A farm, huh?” Iruka perked up. He’d almost say the man’s physique was due to working the lands but the pale skin and lack of any tan certainly dashed that.

Kakashi nodded, but he didn’t seem as excited to discuss himself. “I inherited it but I just rent out the land to the locals.”

“Still though, that sounds neat,” Iruka tried to encourage. “I haven’t stepped foot on a farm since I was a kid. They’re practically extinct.” Kakashi hummed his answer and seemed to stare off into space. He was suddenly very quiet and Iruka wondered if he’d brought up a touchy subject. But was it really his fault? Kakashi had been the one to start the conversation - it was only normal to be asked in return.

Iruka took the opportunity to check his phone, excusing himself from the table. The battery symbol now read fifty-two percent - plenty of power to call a ride and head home. He returned to the chair, powering the phone on and waiting for it to load. “I hope I’m not keeping you from anything,” Iruka chanced saying, silently praying that he actually was and Kakashi would kick him out sooner.

Instead, he was met with a shake of a head. “No, not at all. I just have some shopping to do at some point.”

Iruka held back his obvious disappointment and forced a smile. “Oh, okay, good.” The phone finished flashing through the startup logos and began syncing with the updates, populating the top bar with icons. Iruka groaned and ran a hand down his face from the gruesome reality of ditching his friends. Outside of the usual email and app update notifications, he had twenty-three unread text messages and seven missed phone calls and voicemails from Izumo and Kotetsu.

“That bad?” Kakashi grimaced for him.

Iruka nodded as he scrolled through his messages. They started out as usual asking where he went and what his date looked like to the more frantic, _‘Are you alive?’_ As Iruka looked through the history, he can see why. “I appear to have _not_ told them anything last night. Oh god… what a mess…” He looked up at Kakashi and grimaced. “Sorry, but I should get going before they file a missing persons report.”

Kakashi seemed to find it amusing. “Do you get kidnapped often?”

Now it was Iruka's turn to laugh. “No, no,” he said with a shake of his head. “They can just be a little overprotective.”

“Mm. Then they're good friends.” Kakashi stood up, taking Iruka’s plate with him and placing it into the sink. A moment later there was a jingling of keys and Iruka took that as his sign to leave.

“Thank you for feeding me and letting me borrow your charger.”

“Not a problem. Do you have everything?”

Iruka did a pat down and checked his wallet to make sure. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Then I'll give you a ride,” he motioned with his head towards the door.

Iruka quickly denied the offer. “What? No, no, no. You don't have to do that.”

Kakashi threw on a jacket and seemed to grab a few other things off the counter. “I don't mind. I have to go out anyways and figured the sooner I hit the stores the less crowded they'll be.” He opened the door and ushered Iruka out.

“You really don't have to,” Iruka said again once he was out in the hallway. He fiddled with the cap to his drink as he waited for Kakashi to finish locking up.

“I know,” the man said with a soft smile. “But I want to.”

And fuck him if Iruka was going to deny that charming smile. He shook his head to shoo away those distracting thoughts. “I'm just not comfortable taking advantage of your hospitality. You've been more than accommodating.”

He was following Kakashi anyways since he had no idea where in the building he was at, though it was definitely an apartment building and it couldn't be that hard to navigate. They rode an elevator down a few floors that opened up to a parking garage where Iruka obediently followed after his gracious host in shame.

“Maa, if anyone is taking advantage it's me.” He tilted his head towards Iruka, looking a little guilty. “I feel pretty bad for not realizing how drunk you were last night.”

Iruka shirked his shoulders, feeling embarrassed. “Like I said, you didn't. I was looking for it to begin with.”

“Mm. Still isn't an excuse.” They stopped and Kakashi pressed his keys, a black BMW blinking in response. “At least allow me to drive you home to make up for it.”

Iruka stared at the car for a second, for some reason expecting a beat up older model car and not a sleek new luxury vehicle. Maybe it was because of how desolate Kakashi’s apartment was that he was surprised. Then again, Kakashi had said he'd inherited his family's estate; the apartment must just be a place to sleep.

Iruka’s mind spun. There's no way a suave gentleman and apparently wealthy man such as Kakashi found him appealing.

“I-” Iruka hesitated, feeling self-conscious. He wasn't exactly looking forward to getting an Uber or taxi ride back to his place with his current state of dirty clothes and unwashed hair, but he felt overwhelmed by the extra care Kakashi was providing him.

Kakashi frowned. “If you aren’t comfortable, can I at least call you a ride?”

Iruka snapped up, (a mistake the way his head retaliated at the movement) and sheepishly waved his hands. “No, no. It’s fine. I- … Thank you. I appreciate it.”

The soft smile returned. “Good. After all, it _is_ my fault you’re all the way out here.”

“Again,” Iruka was close to scolding as he opened the passenger door, “not your fault.” After Kakashi threw a bunch of towels into the back seat, Iruka said down and buckled up, the bottle of Pedialyte squeezed between his thighs.

“I'm not changing how I feel,” Kakashi told him as he started up the car. “I should have realized you weren't in your right mind.”

He took a pair of fingerless gloves from his pockets which Iruka thought was a little over the top to drive a car with. This wasn't NASCAR and the city had too much traffic to be speeding around. He almost rolled his eyes until he noticed the scarring on the back of Kakashi's hands before the gloves slipped over the marred skin. Then he felt like an asshole for assuming. _He must be self-conscious of his scars…_ Iruka resisted the urge to touch his own across his face, knowing how difficult it could be to be stared at and questioned.

He shrunk in his seat. “Let's just agree to disagree,” he mumbled. He tried not to stare as Kakashi slipped on an eye patch before pulling the car in reverse and driving through the lot. The man clearly had image issues that had started the second they were heading out into the public and it made Iruka wonder why he hadn't worn anything in front of him.

And then things started to click into place.

Maybe Kakashi had targeted him because of Iruka's own scar. Maybe he thought he could bare what he thought was ugly to someone else who may have felt the same with their own body image issues. Iruka had long since gotten over the scar on his nose - wore it like a badge of honor even though the way he got it wasn't anything to brag about. The one on his back was still fresh, however, the only time it was on display was when he wasn't wearing a shirt. He was definitely more conscious of people seeing that one. It wasn't clean like the one on his face - it was ugly and gnarled, and still ached from time to time.

Kakashi said something but Iruka had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear and instead made a stupid noise of confusion. Kakashi looked at him expectantly. “Where am I going?”

Iruka blinked owlishly at him before his questioned registered. “Oh! Sorry! Duh, um… Do you know where the library is?” He silently berated himself for his absentmindedness. Of course Kakashi needed directions - they only just learned their names a few minutes ago.

Kakashi seemed to contemplate it, staring into the sky before nodding assuredly. Then he grimaced as he looked to Iruka, and sheepishly admitted, “Vaguely.”

Iruka giggled and.. well… he giggled. Why the hell did his laugh come out like a giggle? He wanted to scream in embarrassment. “It's okay. I live a few blocks from there but head East on Main and we can go from there,” Iruka instructed.

Kakashi pulled out onto the road after he nodded, claiming, “I definitely know how to get to Main Street.”

He drove relatively smooth but then again, there was enough traffic to prevent any daredevil maneuvers. At least he wasn't a show off and used his turn signals like a decent human being, which Iruka could appreciate. Maybe Kakashi could teach Kotetsu how to drive properly.

Incidentally…

Iruka took the more silent drive as an opportunity to check his last voicemail, received about an hour ago, knowing that one would be the most to the point. Izumo’s voice came on, sounding frantic.

**_“Come on, Iruka! Answer the damn phone! We're worried about you! We just checked your apartment and you weren't there. Just call us as soon as you can!”_ **

Iruka winced, sucking his teeth at how panicked Izumo and Kotetsu must be. He opened up his messages, sending a short text to the both of them that he was fine and on his way home. It was a terrible mistake because maybe half a minute later his phone started ringing. Iruka hesitated in answering it, glancing awkwardly at Kakashi.

“Is it your friends?” he asked, glancing at him quickly before returning his single eye to the road.

“Yeah, sorry, they'll keep calling if I don't answer,” Iruka apologized, seeking forgiveness for being rude.

“You should let them know that you’re okay,” Kakashi told him.

More than glad for the distraction, Iruka inhaled deeply in preparation and answered the call. “Hey-”

_“IRUKA!”_ Izumo’s screech could be clearly heard on the other end. Iruka flinched and held the phone away while Izumo assaulted his ear. _“Where the hell have you been? We've been freaking out!”_

“I’m fine-”

_“You disappeared on us!”_ Kotetsu cut in. _“What the hell, dude? What happened to our system?”_

“Guys-” Now they were both yelling at Iruka, demanding answers but not giving him a chance to speak. The hangover headache throbbed in a painful reminder that it was still there and not to be ignored. “Guys- Guys! One at a- One. At. A. Time. Jesus…” How did they expect him to answer if they wouldn’t stop interrupting him?

They quieted down, Izumo taking back control of his phone and in a more acceptable volume, asked, _“Iruka, are you okay? Do you need us to come get you?”_

Now that he didn’t need to hold his phone at bay, Iruka talked normally as well, putting it up to his ear. “I’m fine and no. I got a ride.”

_“Are you sure? Do you have your wallet?”_

“Yes, I’m sure, and yes, I didn’t lose anything.” He glanced at the familiar surrounding area and covered his phone quickly. “Turn right on Maple,” he said in a hushed volume. Kakashi nodded and started making his way over.

Back on the phone, Izumo let the air he’d been apparently holding out and sounded much more relaxed... Before the interrogation started again. _“What the shit, Iruka? We were worried sick!”_

“I’m sorry. My phone died so I had no idea.” He hated making them worry but their overprotectiveness was becoming a nuisance. Iruka was more than capable of taking care of himself.

...Although…

He flicked his gaze onto Kakashi for a second before turning his attention back to his lap. He’d definitely gone a little too far with his drinking last night. He hasn’t gotten blackout drunk like that since he first discovered his limits in college and back then that was just fun. Last night he’d been on a hunt and gotten reckless with the free drinks sent his way - if not a little more than done with watching Izumo and Kotetsu all over each other. At least his one night stand turned out to be a nice guy (even if he didn’t remember a damn thing.)

Izumo groaned on the other end like he wasn’t sure he believed him. _“Hm? What?”_ Iruka heard Kotetsu say something inaudible in the background. _“No, he can tell us-”_ He sighed. _“Kotetsu wants details about who you ditched us for.”_

His face heated. There was no way he was divulging any information about the very person in the seat next to him. “Don’t worry about it,” Iruka very nearly growled.

_“You know we’ll get you to talk.”_

“I’m hanging up now.”

_“What? Iruka! Don’t you dare!”_

“I’m hanging up,” Iruka repeated, already pulling the phone away. Izumo continued to protest, yelling for Iruka not to hang up. “Nope. I’m- I’m hanging up. Goodbye!” He hit the end call button and slumped into the seat with a sigh, head throbbing.

Kakashi chuckled. “They sound very worried about you.”

Iruka scratched at his scar nervously. “They care, I just wished they’d let me be sometimes.”

“Hm. Appreciate it while you can.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Kakashi seemed a little somber and after seeming to have crossed a line earlier at breakfast Iruka decided it was best not to delve too deep. “Um…” Iruka fiddled with his phone case. “Another right at the next light. And… thank you, for taking me home.”

A smile touched Kakashi’s face. “It’s not a problem.” That seemed to be his favorite phrase.

As Kakashi turned the car, Iruka spotted his building and pointed at the window. “I’m that red brick building right there.”

“Got it.” Kakashi maneuvered his way through traffic and pulled into one of the empty spots out front, shifting the car into park.

Iruka was more than ready to exit the car and end his ongoing shame and embarrassment but when he popped the door open, he hesitated. “Um. Thank you, again. I appreciate it.”

“I didn’t mind at all. It’s the least I could do.”

Kakashi was being too generous with his unwarranted guilt; Iruka had been the one who had taken advantage, not him. He got out and closed the door before he felt any more of the guilt eat at him but stopped when the window lowered.

Kakashi leaned into view and smiled another charming smile. “If you’d allow me, may I have your number? It’s not too late to get that play-by-play.”

Iruka bit his bottom lip. God was it hard to deny that smile. He got the feeling Kakashi was quite popular and because of that, he had to shake his head. “No, sorry. I really do appreciate you taking me home, but I’m not looking for any kind of relationship.”

Kakashi nodded, looking away for a second. “Alright; fair enough. Maybe fate will have other plans.” He shifted out of park and began looking for oncoming traffic.

Iruka waved awkwardly as the car started to reverse out. “Thank you, again.”

Kakashi flashed him another smile. “You say thank you _way_ too much,” he called out. “It was my pleasure, Iruka. And who knows, maybe we’ll bump into each other again.”

_Well, you know where I live now,_ he nearly said aloud. The thought was heavily laced with sarcasm but a part of him was nervous that he’d led, basically a complete stranger, to his home. Kakashi seemed nice, but that could all be an illusion that Iruka wasn’t going to fall for so easily. So he smiled and nodded instead as Kakashi pulled out of the driveway.

He waited until the car was out of sight before heading into the building. He just wanted a nice hot shower and a peaceful nap to get rid of his headache. He was sure Izumo and Kotetsu would be harping for details soon enough but unfortunately, he didn't have any. At a certain point last night, his memories stopped. Only his body seemed to remember.

The shower's heavenly white noise soothed his very soul as he started undressing. The background ringing in his ears from the club music was blotted out and muscles immediately began to relax as steam filled the room. He couldn’t wait to wash away the night’s filth.

As he pulled off his shirt, Iruka straightened at the sight of his own reflection and leaned heavily onto the sink counter, wiping away the condensation that was already beginning to form on the mirror. His neck and chest was littered with bite and kiss marks, some worse than others, and a few that would be hard to hide. He silently thanked his own brain for thinking ahead. Some of the marks were definitely going to last a few days but he had a whole week off for spring break to heal. Sometimes being a teacher really paid off.

He did a full body inspection, finding a few additional marks on his inner thighs. There was definitely the uncomfortable slime of lube and normally he didn't fret over the feel but because he couldn't recall any details of last night, he hoped they'd used protection. Iruka was usually so careful but clearly he wasn't in his right mind. And it was too late to ask Kakashi for any details.

_Oh, well,_ he thought. _I'll just have to make an appointment Monday._

Iruka thoroughly showered, ridding himself of the stickiness of sweat and sex and relishing in the hot water. It felt so good to finally unwind the tension that had been building from waking up next to Kakashi. And he felt even better when he realized how sated his body felt. The sex must have been as good as Kakashi claimed it was if all of his work stress suddenly didn't feel so overwhelming. He really _had_ needed to get laid.

But something was bothering him in the back of his mind. Kakashi had distinct features that tugged at his memories like he’s met him before and the more he dwelled on it, the more the feeling seemed to grow. He hoped it wasn’t one of his student’s parents - he’d never live that humiliation down and he was pretty sure he’d never slept with him before.

Iruka mentally shrugged, pushing the feeling aside. Maybe his brain was faintly remembering meeting him at the club and that was the touch of familiarity he was feeling.

The couch looked incredibly inviting as Iruka stepped out of the bathroom, towel loose around his neck to catch the remaining water in his hair. Then his eyes drifted to the stacks of papers. He wasn’t ready for the day to begin, dressed only in fresh underwear and a tank top. The schoolwork he needed to catch up on was piled onto the coffee table, taunting him of the work to come. Iruka wasn't one to be lazy but his head wasn't up for reading a hundred essays and he groaned long and low from the back of his throat at the prospect of doing work. “No. Sleep. Go to bed, Iruka,” he ordered himself and dragged his feet towards the bedroom, ignoring the glaringly obvious stack of papers that he will have to touch at some point.

Shins hit the mattress first and Iruka let himself fall forward, only catching himself so he could crawl up the length of the bed and collapse into the sheets. He was face down into the pillows, headache renewed, thankful the curtains were drawn closed and the ceiling fan was running.

…

The noises started low, muffled, as if they were behind a wall. Iruka dismissed it as his neighbors and burrowed deeper into his pillows until the sounds seemed to grow louder. He could distinctly make out his ringtone, vaguely remembering he'd left it on the kitchen counter, and rose onto his elbows, blinking the bleariness of sleep away. The distant thudding started again, only this time it wasn't as far away. Iruka whined as he realized someone was knocking on his door and if his cell phone was ringing he had two suspects in mind. “Go away,” he mumbled into the pillows. But Izumo and Kotetsu could be incredibly persistent and if they could hear his phone through the door they knew he was home.

Iruka hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep but a glance at the alarm clock told him he'd been out for almost two hours. As much as his body protested, he got up and began searching for some clothes. He _could_ continue to ignore the duo outside his door, contemplated it really, but knew that if he slept any more he'd have a hard time falling asleep tonight. He just _really_ didn't want to be interrogated but it was inevitable with those two - especially with Kotetsu.

After putting on a shirt that hid most of the hickies, Iruka threw a hoodie on to hide the rest. That, and the hoodie was just so damn comfortable.

Iruka swiped his ringing phone off the counter, glaring at Izumo’s name on the caller ID and ripped the door open. Both Izumo and Kotetsu stared wide-eyed into his glare, Izumo frozen with his phone still to his ear. Iruka made a show of hanging up on him before rolling his eyes and stepping out of the way.

“About fucking time,” Izumo growled. “Why'd you deadbolt the door?”

“Because I didn't want to be disturbed. I didn't give you guys a spare key so you can wake me up just to play twenty questions,” Iruka shot back.

“We were just worried about you,” Kotetsu put in.

Iruka closed his front door and couldn't hold back the yawn that escaped him. “I know, but you couldn't come bother me later? You interrupted my nap.”

Izumo's eyes narrowed. “You never take naps.”

“Yeah well,” Iruka rubbed the side of his face, “I have a pretty bad hangover. I'm actually surprised I haven't puked yet.”

Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged a look before Cheshire cat grins spread across their cheeks. “Alright, besides the fact that you drank too much,” Izumo leered, “where were you this morning?”

Iruka flushed red as Kotetsu added, “Yeah, who'd you ditch us for?”

“Listen, guys,” he said as an eyebrow twitched, “I didn't mean to not tell you I was leaving. I wasn't quite in control of myself last night.”

“And this morning?” Izumo pressed.

Iruka brushed by them and sat down in the recliner. They took it as an invitation to sprawl over the couch and eye him expectantly. Iruka sighed. It was better to just tell them and get it over with than be harassed until he cracked. “I stayed the night at this guy's place.”

_“‘Guy's?’”_ went Kotetsu with a curious lilt.

“But you never stay the night,” Izumo looked at him worried, ignoring his partner's comment.

“Yeah, I know,” Iruka moaned. “He said that _I_ even _said_ I had to go but then I passed out so he just let me be.”

“Aw, that's nice of him,” Kotetsu baby-talked. Then he slumped over Izumo's back and grinned. “And? Was he any good?”

Iruka winced while Izumo grew progressively more annoyed with his new career as a pillow.

“Ooo, that bad?” Kotetsu grimaced at the face Iruka must have been making.

He hesitated, aware that their reactions to the truth would be overprotective mom-mode (as he liked to call it) for his negligence. “I… don't have an opinion.”

Both of their faces dropped in confusion. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“I uhh… Don't remember any of it.”

Izumo shot up, head-butting Kotetsu in the process. “What?! What do you mean you don't remember? Were you drugged?! Iruka!”

“Calm down!” Iruka snapped, cringing as his head throbbed.

“Calm down?! Iruka, if you don't remember-”

Kotetsu, while rubbing his jaw, grabbed Izumo by the top of his head. “Let him talk, Izumo, before you start jumping to conclusions.”

Iruka shot him a grateful look. “I don't remember because I was drunk as shit,” Iruka admonished. “And you two know how difficult it is to decipher how drunk I am.”

“Yeah… but Iruka… you're usually so careful.”

“I know, but it wasn't like I _didn't_ want to get laid. I went there with that intention. I just don't remember any of it after, like, my fifth shot.” He shrugged like it was no big deal but he was still internally freaking out a little.

Kotetsu tilted his head to the side and looked knowingly at Izumo. “He _was_ being hit on _a lot_ last night. The amount of free drinks he scored had to be a new record.”

Izumo scowled at him before he turned concerned brown eyes on Iruka. “Okay, so you got plastered. But this guy you went home with, he wasn't a creep was he? You sure you weren't drugged?”

Iruka shook his head. “No, I'm pretty sure I was just blackout drunk. Feels like it, anyways.” He grinned sheepishly as he remembered all of the details of this morning and scratched embarrassingly at his scar. “And apparently drunk me has good tastes.”

“Well I could have told you that,” Kotetsu snickered. Izumo appropriately smacked him.

“Spill it, Iruka,” Izumo wagged a finger, looking cross. “Tell me who I need to beat up for taking advantage of you.”

“First off,” Iruka tried to look stern but knew his face was cracking as he remembered all of Kakashi’s gentlemanly gestures. “I wanted to get laid and you two were made very aware of that.” Izumo rolled his eyes but Kotetsu leaned closer. “Second of all, you know how difficult it can be to tell how far drunk I am.”

“Stop making excuses for the bastard,” Izumo grit.

Iruka frowned. “He was actually pretty nice this morning and apologized.”

“Apologized for what?”

“For what you're accusing him of,” Iruka glared. “When I said I couldn't remember he called himself an asshole for taking advantage of me.”

“Good! Because he is!”

“Izumo,” Kotetsu warned. “You and I aren't exactly saints in the ‘Taking Advantage of Iruka’ department either.” Izumo snapped his mouth shut and growled low, cheeks coloring pink. Kotetsu motioned for Iruka to continue, saying, “Alright, so he was considerate. But do you really think he's as nice as he played off?”

Grateful that at least Kotetsu was being a little more level headed for once, Iruka let his temper simmer down. “He was understanding, made me some toast since that's all my stomach could handle, and didn't seem all that offended when I was trying to find an excuse to leave. He was…” Iruka searched for the right word to describe Kakashi. “... Sweet. Honestly? Too nice considering I was the one using him.”

“Yeah, ‘cuz he got what he wanted,” Izumo muttered under his breath. He glared at Kotetsu a moment later after he received a sharp elbow.

“Okay, so he was a nice guy, but,” Kotetsu leaned ahead of Izumo and wiggled his eyebrows. “How hot was he? Because _you_ said drunk you has good tastes.”

Iruka shied away, pulling his legs onto the chair with him. “He was attractive. And he clearly worked out.” Izumo rolled his eyes but was smiling softly at how restraining Iruka was being and Kotetsu looked ready to shake him down if he didn’t go any further. Iruka chewed his bottom lip before he finally caved. “Okay, he was hot! _Really_ hot. Like, way out of my league sexy.” He slumped back into the chair, picturing Kakashi watching him with that one eyed leer. “And his body… Ugh! He was like a goddamn marble statue.” He was very aware that he was swooning but if his two closest friends were going to pester him, then he damn sure was going to brag. “I don’t know why he picked me but I certainly know why I went home with him.” Iruka decided to leave out the bit about the scars though even with them, Kakashi was still incredibly attractive, but there was no need to feed his own theories as to why Kakashi had chosen him.

Kotetsu grinned and nodded in approval. Even Izumo was coming around to the idea. “Okay, but we all know looks aren’t everything. How good in bed was he?” Kotetsu prodded.

Iruka glared. The man knew just how much he hated sharing the intimate details of his chosen partners. What happened was between Iruka and whomever he was seeing. But this time, he didn’t have any information to hide. He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know. I don’t remember a thing.”

“What?” Kotetsu whined. “Not even a blur?”

“Iruka…” Izumo moaned in concerned disappointment.

Iruka shrugged. “The last thing I remember was being at the bar with what was probably my fourth cocktail, and the next, I was waking up in his bed.”

“Not even a second round with Mr. Marble Statue?”

Iruka shot him a pointed look. “It was a one night stand; I don’t want something casual. And he was nice enough to feed me and loan me a phone charger so I can tell you two that I was okay.”

Kotetsu groaned his name in frustration. “We get it - he’s a nice guy. Did he at least tell you what happened?”

“He offered. Twice actually when he asked if I wanted his number-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Kotetsu interrupted and was using Izumo as a support again. “You got his number?” He was asking with a bright grin on his face.

Iruka was swift is dashing his thoughts. “No, I rejected it.”

Unexpectedly, Izumo seemed let down. “Why?”

Iruka eyed him warily. “Because I’m not interested in having a relationship right now.” He felt like he was repeating himself for the hundredth time. “Because he was just a one night stand to relieve my tension from work. And that’s exactly what I did and other than the hangover, I feel a lot better.”

Izumo’s eyed reflected back concern. “You just keep praising him. I figured maybe…”

Iruka locked eyes with him. “I won’t date someone when my first encounter with them is based on sex. There’s no emotion behind it and it’ll just be satisfying a need from then on.” He pouted as he looked away. “Besides, I’m not…” _I’m not ready to open myself up again,_ he left unsaid.

He hadn’t needed to say it anyways because Izumo was off the couch and hugging him a second later. Iruka grumbled and pushed at the man. “Izumo, get off of me.”

“No,” came a defiant reply.

A shadow moved in behind Izumo. “No, Kotetsu! Don’t!” More weight toppled on top of him, Kotetsu bickering for Izumo to move over and share. “Guys, come on. Get off of me.”

“No,” they said in unison.

Iruka sighed, struggled a little more, and then submitted to his fate. He loved the both of them, but their smothering affections could be too much sometimes.


	2. Midmorning Dance

A pleasantly hot mocha latte streamed down his throat and Iruka sighed in satisfaction. Chocolate was a guilty pleasure of his and combined with his favorite morning pick-me-up, nothing could ever sour his mood. Not even the worst of his students.

The little coffee shop he was currently enjoying was one of his personal havens and he was glad to spend the morning with his obnoxious duo of best friends, Izumo and Kotetsu. They sat across from him at the little table and like himself they had a to-go coffee in each of their hands, Kotetsu with a similar mocha latte as Iruka but with added maple syrup, and Izumo with something less garnished, sticking with a regular coffee with cream. A plate of mini raspberry danishes rested between the three of them, it's contents mostly eaten.

Iruka wasn't often able to sit down and enjoy the shop except on weekends but it was always crowded during then and because of that, he habitually ended up giving his seat to someone else who looked like they needed it more. If he was lucky and wasn’t pressed for time, he'd take his coffee on a walk, sometimes all the way to the park if the weather permits. And with school out for the week, Izumo and Iruka had the sweet pleasure of being able to do whatever they wanted on this rather beautiful Monday, and they chose their favorite café.

And what a perfect time to do so. There was still a line but not nearly as bad as the morning rush and since most people had to go to work, the shop was considerably less packed during their mid-morning brunch.

Kotetsu snorted into his coffee after Iruka finished telling a story about one of his worse (and favorite) students and ended up having to dab the escaped droplets off his uniform. Lucky for him it was dark blue and would hide any evidence but he hissed a curse as he poked at the stain.

Izumo grinned as he popped another danish into his mouth and didn't wait to swallow before he spoke. “Naruto was the worst. I don't know how you found the patience to tutor that kid but not only did he _suck_ at math, but he had no other mode other than sugar high. Kid never stopped moving.”

“Wait,” Kotetsu paused in his cleaning to glance at Iruka. “I thought you were still tutoring him?”

Iruka nodded. “Yeah, he still struggles with algebra and trigonometry so I meet with him twice a week to study.”

“You're _still_ teaching him?” Izumo asked incredulously. “I thought that ended already. He _did_ graduate, right? Cuz there's no way he's eluded me these past couple of years.”

Iruka laughed. “Yes, he's a sophomore now, and yes, I still help him with math. His parents actually found out and are paying me, though I tried to refuse. Mr. Namekaze said… oh what did he say…” Iruka tilted his head in thought and smiled. “Something along the lines of, _‘If you have the patience to deal with my son outside of school you're a hero. Naruto is impossible to teach with conventional means and I won't take no for an answer.’”_

Izumo grinned. “Yeah he was. I only substituted and he was a pain in the neck. I thought he'd never graduate.”

“He tries, he just needs a different perspective and someone who knows more than one way to solve a problem,” Iruka shrugged.

Kotetsu bumped his shoulder into Izumo. “I kinda liked him the few times I've met him. He seemed like a fun kid.”

Izumo shot him a glare. _“You_ didn't have to chase him around the school grounds or be a victim to his pranks.”

Iruka snorted and failed at suppressing his laughter once the glare turned onto him. “You have to admit, some of those pranks were pretty good,” he grinned sheepishly.

“I don't know how you can sit there and laugh after he made that pen explode all over your desk,” Izumo snapped. “You were pissed for like a week.”

Iruka's grin faltered (for like a second) until he remembered a moment that was forever ingrained into his memories. “That may be true, but nothing will ever top hearing you scream like a girl from the other end of the building after he put a fake spider in your classroom.”

Izumo started turning red and clenched his teeth as he spoke. “He rigged it to fall from the ceiling! You'd scream too if some big ass spider landed on you!”

He couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing, cackling harder as Izumo growled that it wasn't funny. Iruka had to lean back and save his coffee from Izumo's swipe while Kotetsu tried wrangling him back.

“Come on, Izumo, it's a little funny,” Kotetsu tried his best to calm him but was doing a bad job at it. “You do scare easily.”

“I just wish it was caught on the security cameras,” Iruka chuckled. He flinched a second later as Izumo flicked a crumb at him. Iruka glowered at Izumo and brushed off the crumb that had multiplied. “Oh, real mature. Now who's the child?”

“I'm still not convinced you didn't have a hand in that.” Izumo crossed his arms and pouted. “I still think you helped him.”

“How? I was at the other end of the school,” Iruka rebuked.

“Doesn't mean you didn't give him the idea,” Izumo accused. “You tortured us in high school. In fact, I think you picked on my grade worse than the freshman!”

Kotetsu snorted and elbowed Izumo. “Remember how pissed Anko was with the pink dye in the school’s water supply?”

Iruka smiled behind his coffee as Izumo glared at him. “Remember? I was pissed too! Screw Anko and the softball team, they were all girls!”

Iruka laughed and wiped an eye. “I forgot you were one of the few guys who took a shower after school! Oh man, that one was a top five!” He held out his hand, five fingers spread wide.

While Izumo simmered, Kotetsu leaned in close. “Hey, the pink looked good on you,” he teased in distraction. The fury meant for Iruka moved onto him. “Maybe you should have taken it as a sign to come out of the closet sooner!” He ended up with an obscenely loud guffaw as he caught Izumo's fist and pulled him into kissing distance. Izumo flushed a different red at the sudden closeness and quickly pushed back.

“If it helps,” Iruka added, glad he was spared from the two of them being any further affectionate. “Even if we were friends back then I'd still have done all of it. You guys just had the best reactions. All the other years weren't as fun.”

Izumo snapped his dark eyes on Iruka, his fists still captured in Kotetsu's palms. “Only because of Anko. She would go on rampages trying to figure out who did it.”

“Yo, remember when she figured out it was him?” Kotetsu nudged.

“Oh, God, I skipped school for two days,” Iruka exasperated, straightening in his chair. “She was going to kill me!”

A fist pounded against the table. “I was rooting for her to!” Izumo scowled back and thrust a finger at Iruka. “But you’re a little weasel who somehow avoided getting caught by everyone out for your blood.”

Iruka covered his mouth with the back of his hand in an attempt to muffle his laughing. “I should- I should have let her. I got in _so_ much trouble for skipping school.”

“And yet, you _still_ pulled shit.”

Iruka waved his hand, his face beginning to hurt from grinning so much. “I eventually stopped once my identity was compromised. All the fun was in not getting caught.”

“Yeah, Izumo, you forget how much he got away with. There’s no way Iruka trained the kid - the first thing he would’ve taught him was how to get away with it.” Kotetsu raised his coffee to Iruka. “Maybe you should have. Then Naruto wouldn’t have spent so much time in detention.”

Still grinning, Iruka shook his head. “No, my delinquent days are behind me. Once Hiruzen caught on he put a swift end to my bad behavior.”

“Oh yeah,” Izumo winced at the memories. “I remember seeing him at the Principal’s Office with you in tow. I felt kinda bad. He finds it funny now, though, doesn’t he?”

Smirking, Iruka leaned back into the chair. “Yeah, he got over it quick and still likes to poke fun at me for being his most ‘troublesome son.’” Iruka took a sip. “But it’s cool. There was never any bad blood between us and I basically stopped after that. Hiruzen and his family were too good to me for me to continue getting into trouble.”

“Yeah, figures you’d mature the last couple of months of our senior year. It was bad enough we got picked on when we were freshmen but then you had to come along and go and torture us for the other three.”

“I like how you continue to bring up how I made your high school life hell as if it wasn’t already,” Iruka grinned. “If anything,” he articulated, “I provided you with countless stories to impress your friends with.”

“Ah, yes, as Anko coined, the Great Irukaning,” Izumo said as he rolled his eyes. He picked up another danish and popped it into his mouth. “I guess it wasn’t _so_ bad. You at least didn’t discriminate who your targets were except occasionally the assholes.”

“And Anko,” Kotetsu put in.

“Eh, I’m kinda putting Anko in the asshole territory,” Izumo shrugged. “She _did_ like to fight people and drag us around.”

“What are you talking about?” Iruka huffed. “She still does.”

“Yeah, but she was worse in high school,” Kotetsu countered. “You only need to look out for her now if she’s been drinking.”

The three of them nodded in agreement and simultaneously took a swig of their respective coffees. Iruka stretched, knitting his fingers together and arching back. “We should hang out with her again,” he suggested. “I haven’t seen her in awhile.”

Izumo laughed. “All you gotta do is mention drinking and she doesn’t need any other excuse. But it _has_ been awhile.”

Once he got his spine to crack, Iruka slumped into his chair. “I haven’t been to the _Jackknife_ in months. We could hang there,” Iruka proposed, aimlessly turning his cup of coffee on the table.

“Ooo, yeah! We should do that!” Kotetsu beamed. “Genma’s been bugging me to go drinking with him too. He can entertain Anko’s need to challenge everyone.”

“We can’t do it this week, though,” Izumo reminded him. Kotetsu blushed and shrunk back into his chair, mumbling an, ‘oh, right.’

Iruka rolled his eyes. “You guys don’t need to hide your date night from me, you know.”

“We’re not hiding it.”

Kotetsu looked sheepish and scratched at the back of his head. “It’s more like a date mini vacation. Three days at a bed and breakfast on the beach.” He was clearly trying to be modest but was too excited not to gloat a little.

“Ah, I’m envious,” Iruka began but his eyes caught a blot of silver amongst a sea of browns and blacks.

“Sorry, Iruka,” Izumo said, but Iruka was hardly paying attention. He squinted as if that would better his vision as he watched the line move and reveal the untamed silver hair. “We didn’t want to hide it, we just know you don’t like… Iruka?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Iruka barely gave them any attention. He watched the figure at the counter turn and Iruka immediately ducked his head. “Shit!” he muttered under his breath.

Izumo and Kotetsu raised their eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

He put a hand up to shield his face. “It’s the guy.”

“What guy?” Izumo asked and twisted around with Kotetsu following suit.

Iruka smacked at them. “Guys! Come on! Don’t-!”

“What? Who are you talking about?”

Iruka glared at them. “The guy with the gray hair. He’s the guy I…” Iruka left it wordless but motioned in a ‘you know’ fashion.

“Whaaaat?” Izumo crooned in disbelief. He was in the process of turning around again when Iruka cuffed (with restraint) at his friends.

“Come on! Don’t make it so obvious!”

Izumo shrugged in confusion. “Well, how else am I gonna see what he looks like?”

“Here,” Kotetsu loudly whispered and slid the metallic napkin dispenser. Iruka groaned into his hands as they worked their makeshift mirror.

“It’s too warped,” Izumo growled, even brushing his bangs out of the way trying to see better.

“Oh! Use your phone!” Kotetsu shouted a whisper. “The front facing camera!”

Izumo gasped at Kotetsu’s ‘brilliant’ idea. “You’re right!” He fumbled in his jacket pocket but Iruka wasn’t about to let them be even more obvious.

“Guys! Stop! You morons are going to-”

“Maa, Iruka, what a coincidence running into you here.”

All three of them froze. Iruka let his eyes travel upward, taking in the lazy ensemble of dark clothing until he reached the man’s face. Kakashi had on his eye patch that Iruka remembered from his departure but this time he had on a black cloth surgical mask.

His eye was arched in what Iruka could only assume was a smile but it was hard to tell. “It seems fate had other ideas after all,” he lilted.

“Uh- Kakashi,” Iruka said as he recovered from his initial shock and pasted on a smile. “It _is_ a coincidence.”

There was an awkward pause and Kakashi turned his attention to Izumo and Kotetsu. “The worried friends of yours, I presume?”

Iruka blinked, still a little dumbfounded. “Ah- Yes!”

Izumo rolled his eyes and extended his hand. “Izumo,” he introduced himself. Kakashi took it, following up with Kotetsu’s invitation to shake as well.

“I’m Kakashi,” he said with some amusement, and slipped his gloved hands back into his pockets. “Are the two of you teachers on vacation as well?”

Taking the initiative, Izumo flashed a sweet smile. “I am, but Kotetsu is actually a security guard.” He thrust a thumb over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on Kakashi, analyzing him. Kotetsu seemed to be searching for something on their visitor as well but whatever it was, he was having a hard time figuring it out.

“Oh?” Kakashi tilted his head, intrigued. “Are you security for the school or…?”

Kotetsu pushed his examining to the side and shook his head. “No, I rotate out locations but at the moment it's for the Capitol Building.”

Kakashi nodded as if impressed. “Mm. Security for the government. That's a demanding job.” If Kotetsu were a bird, he would have puffed out his chest feathers at Kakashi's praise. God his friends were embarrassing.

Kakashi returned his attention to Izumo, asking, “And what do you teach? Math like Iruka?”

_He actually remembers what we discussed?_ Iruka watched in mild surprise. He'd honestly thought Kakashi was just rolling through the basic conversation starters to avoid the awkward silences. He didn't think the man would retain any of the information.

Izumo shook his head but Iruka could see the hidden astonishment at Kakashi's in-depth knowledge. This _was_ one of Iruka’s one-night stands; Kakashi shouldn't know much of anything about Iruka. “No, I teach the computer class,” Izumo explained. “Just minor web design and beginners coding. They're middle schoolers so you can't really expect them to know much but it gives the kids who might be proficient in that field an early taste. That way at least those kids can get into the technology electives once they enter high school.”

“Maa, I wish that was around when I went through high school. But I guess computers weren't quite as advanced then,” Kakashi shrugged.

“There's quite a few things I wish we had as kids,” Iruka spoke up and realized his mistake when everyone's attention went to him.

Izumo grinned with mischief and looked up at Kakashi. “You know,” he began, catching the silver-headed man's attention once more. “Iruka has actually raised the bar of the recent sets of kids. The class averages have gone up, fewer kids are being held back, and more of them are taking college level electives at the high school. All thanks to Iruka”

“I… wouldn't go _that_ far,” Iruka said timidly. He flicked his gaze nervously at Kakashi and shied away. There was an odd, almost curious fondness in the man's single eye that made Iruka blush.

“He's being too modest,” Izumo told Kakashi. “The education system was outdated and needed reform and Iruka worked god knows how many sleepless nights tweaking the system and road mapping new ways to integrate better programs for the kids.”

“It's _really_ not that big of a deal,” Iruka said, fumbling with the lid of his coffee. He was contemplating kicking Izumo under the table. “It's not like I did much.” He hated being the center of attention even though his temper usually put him there in the first place, but Izumo was playing the unwanted role of wingman to purposely raise Iruka up on a pedestal. Honestly, all he felt was humiliation.

What he couldn't work out was why. Izumo was usually so overprotective he tended to scare people away unless he approved of them. He certainly hadn't approved of Kakashi a couple of days ago and continuously dropped hints that he’d find the man who'd ‘taken advantage’ of Iruka and give him what for. So he wondered what had changed.

“Lies,” Izumo boldly claimed. He flashed his teeth at Iruka and winked before he leaned into his palm and stared starry-eyed at Kakashi. “Without him nothing would have been done. Hell, we even got an updated computer system thanks to our dear Iruka.” He had reached over to pinch Iruka on the cheek as his tone changed to something sultry but Iruka batted his hand away.

“You know it's only because I'm stubborn,” Iruka glared at his grinning friend. “If I were a worse teacher they'd toss me for sure.”

Izumo chuckled. “True. Principal Ryoshi only referred to you as that ‘Pain in the Ass’ for what, a semester until he got over it?”

Kakashi smirked and when Iruka and Izumo both looked up they could see a different smile in the gray eye compared to earlier. “Maa, it sounds like you love your job enough to make sure it’s changed for the better. More people should aspire to be like you, Iruka.”

He wasn't sure what shade of red he was blushing but it had to be deep with the way Izumo leered at him. “I- I love my job but it's all for the kids benefit,” Iruka stammered, trying his damnedest to calm the heat rising through him.

Kakashi's eye closed in a high arch as if grinning. “Well, from the sounds of it, you're good at it. I'm a little envious. I'm not very good-” He stopped as his name was called, casting a look at the barista over his shoulder. “Maa,” he drawled, turning back to the three but mostly addressing Iruka. “As much as I would enjoy continuing to speak with you all, I'm running late for a meeting.” He smiled (or at least it looked like he did) with a tilt of his head. “It was nice seeing you again, Iruka,” he said, his voice coming out smooth and soft. Kakashi dipped his head in acknowledgment to Izumo and Kotetsu. “And a pleasure meeting the two of you. Enjoy the rest of your day,” he called casually.

Kotetsu nodded with a two finger wave, uncharacteristically quiet, while Izumo responded more appropriately. “It was nice meeting you as well.”

“Yes, enjoy the rest of your day too, Kakashi,” Iruka returned.

Kakashi appeared to smile wider as he took his leave, grabbing the two coffees set out for him and making his way across the line.

The second he was out the door, Kotetsu snapped onto Iruka. “Okay, I've definitely seen that guy from somewhere and I can't figure out from where.”

_“Right?”_ Iruka pressed, leaning over the table. “He seems so familiar to you too?”

“Yes! And it's driving me nuts!”

“How can you even tell? The dude was covered from head to toe. He barely showed any skin,” Izumo complained. “And what the hell is with the mask, Iruka?”

“I don't know,” Iruka shook his head. “He wasn't wearing it before. He just had the eye patch and gloves when he dropped me off.”

“Dropped-”

Crap. Iruka hadn't mentioned that little detail to them.

Izumo regarded him. _“He_ dropped you off the other morning? You failed to mention that.” He tapped his near empty cup in thought as Iruka scratched at his scar.

“I didn't think it was important. I don't have to tell you guys anything, you know.”

“You couldn't wait to brag about how hot he was. Which, now I'm not sure I believe you. The guy was completely concealed,” Izumo grinned.

Iruka rolled his eyes. “Yes, I made it all up,” he answered sarcastically.

Izumo shrugged. “Well, even if you did, the guy seems nice. And he was _very_ interested in you,” he harassed.

“Not gonna happen,” Iruka responded cheekily.

“But he was _so hot. Way out of your league,_ ” Izumo teased in a breathy wanting whine. “Though, what's up with the gloves and mask? It's a little weird.”

Kotetsu shrugged as he made a guess. “Maybe he's a germophobe like you.”

Iruka very much doubted that but he wasn't going to point out Kakashi's possible insecurities to them.

“And it's pollen season,” Kotetsu continued. “Maybe he has really bad allergies.”

Izumo's lip rose in almost distaste. “I guess,” he said, barely holding back his disbelief. “It's still weird though. And the eye patch?”

Iruka shrugged. “Don't know. I just assumed he's missing the eye.” He drew his thumb down his face. “He has a scar splitting right down the middle of it.”

“But you couldn't tell?”

“Well I wasn't going to ask him. That would be rude.”

“Mm. I suppose,” Izumo drawled. He slouched back into his chair, spinning his cup absentmindedly with a frown. “But that was some bullshit about being late to a meeting. He’s going to get his ass fired if getting coffee was more important than his job. Maybe you really dodged a bullet with that one.”

“Gee, thanks. I’m so glad you’re finally on my side,” Iruka scoffed sarcastically.

“He could have just been meeting a friend,” Kotetsu speculated. Iruka glanced at him, his dark haired friend looking deep in thought. “He had two cups with him and he wasn’t exactly dressed in business clothes.”

“So he doesn’t have a job,” Izumo concluded with a nod. “Then he’s a bum. Good, Iruka, you definitely don’t need that guy.”

Iruka quirked a brow at him, bewildered. “A second ago you were trying to hook me up with him. Make up your mind.”

“I trust your judgement, Iruka, I do,” Izumo clarified. “But you’ve been single for too long.”

“We’ve been over this,” he sighed. “I’m just not interested in dating. My career comes first and I don’t have time to be distracted by someone else.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He did value his job and as stressful as it can be at times, he loved almost every minute of it. “Besides,” he began, “relationships are too much work.”

Izumo grumbled, the frown still curving his lips. He left whatever he actually wanted to say unsaid and the conversation moved back onto setting up a night out with Anko and Genma, who Iruka would finally get the chance to meet.

They continued their brunch in a lighter atmosphere until Kotetsu had to leave for his shift and Izumo, being his ride, going with him. It left Iruka the chance to finally call his doctor once they went their separate ways.

 

*~*~*

 

“You’re late, Kakashi!” Guy shouted across the gym. He was standing, hands on hips, dressed in dark green basketball shorts and an obnoxiously fluorescent green shirt.

“Maa, maa,” he returned wistfully. “I bring a peace offering.” Kakashi lifted the coffee cup for Guy to see, his friend, rival, and trainer’s frown breaking into a wide grin. It didn’t take much to get on Guy’s good side, and his angry bellow was more of a playful banter - in Guy speech, that is.

Tenzou looked up from where he was tying his sneaker and scowled. “Great,” he rolled his eyes. “Because what Guy needs is caffeine. That better not be an espresso.”

“Do you think I would purposefully give Guy more fuel on the days I’m here?” Kakashi pretended to be hurt and tutted at Tenzou. “You wound me. I save those days just for you.”

Eyes narrowed, shifting from side to side before realization dawned on him. “You!” Tenzou shouted, pointing a finger accusingly at Kakashi. “You’re why I’ve been sore all weekend! _You’re_ why he had so much energy Saturday!” He leapt up, cheeks growing red from yelling but his movements were noticeably stiff. “Because you made yourself scarce _I_ got dragged to his fifteen K run _and_ he worked me to death at the gym afterwards. It was all because of _you!”_

Kakashi handed over the _decaffeinated_ coffee to Guy who seemed to be paying little to no mind at Tenzou's shouting. Suppressing his grin and with his new free hand, he placed it on his chest. “Tenzou, how could you place the blame on me? Are you saying _I_ _purposefully_ gave Guy a caffeine laced beverage Saturday morning, knowing you’d run into each other and he’d ask you to join his run and that you are too nice of a person to turn him down?” He shook his head. “You give me _far_ too much credit. As if I could have planned that all out.”

Tenzou growled. “You jackass. It’s for making you go out Friday night, isn’t it.”

“Oh?” Guy grinned boisterously and slapped Tenzou on the back (who's eyes bulged as he held in a cry - Guy really had worked him to death). “You managed to get Kakashi out into society? Dear Tenzou, for that you are the better man!” He laughed triumphantly as if there was something celebrate.

Kakashi wanted to roll his eyes but plastered on a blank stare instead as Guy went on about how much fun their fifteen K run had been and how Kakashi had missed out. “Good for you, Guy. Tenzou loves the outdoors.”

The youngest among them shot him a glare in warning but Guy was completely oblivious to it as he looped his arm around Tenzou’s neck and yanked him close. “Right you are, Kakashi! And it was such a beautiful day, right, Tenzou?”

“Yeah, it was great,” Tenzou forced out. His smile was clearly strained.

“You missed a spectacular run and workout!”

“Maa, well,” he took a sip of the remainder of his coffee and decided to rescue Tenzou. “You can tell me all about it on the mats.”

“Ha-ha! Yes! Go get changed,” Guy urged, finally releasing Tenzou, and downed all of his cup’s contents in one go. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and crushed the cup. “Cuz I am fired up and ready to go!”

“Can't wait, Guy,” Kakashi responded passively, and headed to the locker room.

He changed into his workout clothes, exchanging the eye patch for one that would stay on better and absorb some of the sweat and replaced his mask with one made of a more breathable fabric. He may not care if people see, but he'd garnered such a reputation for wearing it he was advised to keep his face covered to the public. Not that there weren't photos somewhere of his unmasked face that would be publicly available, but for some reason, people wanted to see the real thing. The ‘air of mystery,’ as Tenzou so eloquently put it, boosted his popularity.

He shoved his gym bag into the locker, exchanging his gloves with ones with thicker padding and found Tenzou already helping Guy put on the punch mitts. Kakashi finished what he could of his drink before tossing it into the trash. Probably not the brightest idea to have a coffee before a workout but he had to say, it had been worth it to see Iruka again.

The meeting had been unexpected and had it not been for the defining scar across his face, Kakashi wouldn't have given the other patrons a second glance. But Iruka was there, his shoulder-length hair tied back into a ponytail that somehow looked good on him. Most men couldn't pull off long hair let alone having it up in some kind of knot but Iruka looked… He didn't want to use the word _cute_ to describe a man but how could he not with how fervently the man blushed?

And _damn_ had he blushed. He turned all shades of red as his friends talked about him to Kakashi, one of them clearly trying to shine Iruka under a spotlight. And those friends of his didn't really need to try - Kakashi was already a little infatuated with Iruka - but it was pleasing to have a relatively normal conversation with near strangers.

Kakashi was a little down that the conversation had been cut short but he was already late in meeting Guy and Tenzou at the gym and the quieter of Iruka's friends had been analyzing him too deeply. The security guard one definitely recognized him but couldn't place his identity so Kakashi took advantage of the opportunity to skedaddle out of there.

It was a shame he couldn't make a second attempt at getting Iruka's number.

On the mats, Guy pounded the mitts together and jumped from side to side, amping himself up. Tenzou went off to do his own training, albeit, at a much lower energy level, so it was just the two lifelong friends up for practice.

This time around, Kakashi was going first, Guy acting as the target, starting simple and slow for a warm up. Kakashi brought his fists up, waiting for Guy to start.

They didn’t usually talk much during practice unless there was something that needed to be discussed. Guy would comment here and there, some of it praise, occasional advice, or sometimes a snarky jab at Kakashi’s poorly connected blow. Either way, he kept up a positive attitude – nothing brought the man down. However, throughout their session, they were both quiet. The only sounds between them were the rough breaths and the smack of Kakashi’s fists hitting the foam mitts.

Some time passed and Guy never ceased smiling but it was more relaxed, softer than his usual permanent grin and when he finally spoke, his tone matched the gentler expression.

Keeping his voice low and in control, which usually only occurred when he was serious, he said, “So, this venture Tenzou mentioned: is it why you seem to be in a better mood?”

Kakashi paused between punches, wondering what he's said or done differently that would lead Guy to that conclusion. He resumed his practice. “What ever lead you to believe that?” Kakashi asked halfheartedly.

“I know you well, Kakashi,” Guy went on, pushing a little more force against Kakashi's blows. “You may not wear your heart on your sleeve but there's a definite shift in your teasing earlier.”

For as oblivious to the world around him Guy tended to be, he was disturbingly perceptive. He contemplated whether he should mention why he actually _was_ in a good mood while throwing a few more punches and going for a kick that Guy easily blocked. He decided to suck it up - Guy wasn't a gossip.

“I met someone.”

He braced for a loud ‘passion of youth’ speech but was surprisingly met with a curious hum.

Praying that Guy would keep his emotions under control, Kakashi chanced elaborating. “And, as fate would have it, I ran into them again getting coffee.”

“Mm. I see.”

Guy's completely out of character lack of response sent Kakashi's mind reeling. There was no amount of preparation in his current playing cards to anticipate a silent and observant Guy and it was screwing with his concentration.

With further hesitation, Kakashi kept his voice low, his eyes focused on Guy's face rather than his hands. “I had met them Friday night and did something outside of my comfort zone for once. But you can't tell Tenzou. This is a secret between you and me.” He'd never live it down if Tenzou found out. They may have been long time friends but Kakashi always had the advantage for embarrassing stories. Heaven forbid the tables turned on him because of something Tenzou had pushed him into doing.

Guy's face continued to be serious and reserved, forcing Kakashi to put more power in his punches, hoping for the focus to drift back to his training. They were silent, expressions serious. Maybe this tidbit of information didn’t amuse Guy.

He nearly missed the man’s sudden stance change and near crushing embrace. “Oh what glorious news, Rival!” he shouted, his mask finally broken and splitting into a teary eyed grin. He swooped his arms to grab Kakashi but Kakashi ducked and pivoted on his heel, ending up behind Guy as the Leaf City's Green Beast hugged the air and stumbled forwards.

It was the reaction Kakashi had expected minutes ago - when he'd first let spill the cause of his (admittedly reluctant) fluffy good feelings.

“To think you'd share this moment with me!” Guy continued shouting and held his arms out for a hug.

Kakashi put his fingers to his mask, asking him to quiet down. “Remember, this is a secret between you and me, Guy.”

Guy went rigid before hunkering close, mitts pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. “Ah, I see,” he said at a much lower volume. “I am honored that you've shared this information with me but must it be kept a secret from our dear friends?”

“Maa,” Kakashi drawled, slipping his hands into his shorts pockets. “There's nothing official to discuss. I'd rather not get anyone's hopes up nor put this person into the spotlight.”

Guy nodded, humming as he understood the situation. “Yes, that's true. Keeping your life private has been difficult, but surely, for you to have brought it up, there must be something.”

Kakashi shrugged. “It was just pure luck and chance that I even saw them again.”

“Ah, but Kakashi, I believe you used the word _‘fate_ ’ to explain your second meeting. Perhaps there's a higher power at work here.”

“Mm. But they don't seem very interested in pursuing a friendship,” Kakashi responded blandly. When Iruka had turned him down, he had to admit, he had felt a little chip in his pride, but he wasn't going to let that get to him.

Guy went to stroke his chin but forgot that he was wearing the mitts as he hummed in thought. Upon realizing this, he slapped the foam mitts together and resumed his practice stance, wordlessly telling Kakashi to resume their training while he went on. “Does this person know who you are?”

Punching the left one, Kakashi drew his fist back. “I don't think so. In fact, I'd say they had no idea who I was.”

“Isn't that good?”

“Perhaps.”

He got a few more punches in before Guy asked, “Do you like this person?”

Without pausing, Kakashi drove a particularly stronger fist into Guy's glove. “I wouldn't go that far.” He was attracted to Iruka - mostly that fiery attitude he displayed that first night. But the different phases of blushing were quickly becoming his favorite part about him.

“But there's potential?” Guy eyed him with a quirked brow.

“Don't know. I don't have any way to contact them.”

The look was serious for a moment and then Guy broke out into one of his beaming smiles. “Well, perhaps fate will give you another chance! The powers of the universe channel through you, my Rival, and will help you with your throes of youth!”

Kakashi went for a leg sweep but Guy jumped it without a second of hesitation between his speech.

“I have no doubt that you will find the passion you seek in this person, Kakashi! I just hope you will introduce me to them when the time comes!”

Repressing a sigh, Kakashi punched into a mitt but held it there. “You'll be the first one to know,” he responded coolly.

Guy grinned. “I look forward to it!”


	3. An Atypical Wednesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for the comments and praise of this story thus far and I hope it continues to bring you enjoyment. This chapter is a little short, and though technically Iruka and Kakashi aren't meeting face to face, I'm still counting it.

“Well,” the doctor began as he entered the small exam room. He was an older, balding man with wide frame glasses resting above his nostrils and the standard white lab coat. “I’m not seeing anything that stands out.” He flipped the papers back over and took a seat on the stool. “It’ll be a couple of days for the blood work to come back but the quick test we did here shows nothing outside of perfectly healthy, though your iron count is a little low. But a meal or vitamins can fix that.” He smiled softly at Iruka, placing his clipboard onto the counter and folding his hands in his lap. “Is there anything else I can do for you? A flu shot perhaps?”

Iruka shook his head. “No, that’s all I needed. Just making sure I didn’t pick anything up.” He wasn’t scheduled for his yearly physical for another couple of months but since he was already there, his doctor had been providing enough to take care of it now.

“Well, you are probably one of the healthiest patients I see,” the doctor complimented. He rose from his seat and Iruka hopped off the examination seat, tissue paper loudly crinkling in his wake. “I’ll give you call in a few days once the blood work returns.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Iruka smiled and took the outstretched hand into his.

“You know, my wife’s a dermatologist. She could take a look at that scar for you.”

Iruka refrained from rolling his eyes and chose to smile instead. His doctor brought up his facial scar and how his wife could help clear it up every visit, though he doubted the man remembered. “Nah, it’s okay. I’ve had it for so long, I’d probably miss it.”

The doctor ushered him out of the room, still smiling and chuckling softly. “You never know. It might help with the ladies.”

Iruka grinned. “I thought women _liked_ scars. Doesn’t it make me look tough?”

A hearty laugh filled the hallway as his doctor reacted to Iruka’s reasoning. “I suppose under the right circumstances. Though one of my receptionists definitely used the word ‘cute’ to describe you. You might want _their_ opinion on whether it gives you that ‘bad boy’ look.” They stopped at the receptionist counters, the doctor giving the one of the girls, the young curly-haired one, a teasing look. She turned a slight shade darker, clearly hearing their banter in the hallway.

Great - even his doctor was playing matchmaker. Iruka was beginning to think he should just make someone up to deter people from trying to 'help.'

 

*~*~*

 

While Izumo had made himself busy unpacking, Kotetsu lounged on the couch, flicking through channels absentmindedly. He just needed something semi-entertaining to hold him over until dinner. At least by then, Izumo would be finished organizing their rented bedroom.

Don’t get him wrong; it wasn't that he was being lazy and letting Izumo handle everything. He'd actually tried to help but his offer quickly resulted in him being shooed away after messing with his boyfriend's carefully folded clothes. It was probably better anyways. He definitely spotted some rather racy underwear that he hoped was being saved for later and decided the surprise would be ten times more worth it if it actually remained a surprise. But right now Izumo fussed with getting their room setup for the next few days - his almost OCD tendencies usually cute but at the moment a little annoying. Kotetsu just wanted to relax with Izumo in his arms but knew the other man wouldn't be able to sit still until he finished his organizing.

He continued pressing the channel button just for something to do, a part of him hoping it would drive Izumo up the wall and the man would come over to stop him. Then he could finally get the cuddle he was hoping for once he trapped his lover on the couch. But, to Izumo's credit, he was much more preoccupied examining the bathroom after he finished placing their clothes in the dresser.

The TV went to black at every switch of the station before color and sound returned, Kotetsu hardly giving it a second to load before moving onto the next. The name of the show always showed on the bottom title bar first before the picture actually came on, giving him barely a chance to register what was being played.

And then suddenly, an image zipped by that drew his attention.

Kotetsu blinked, sitting up and suddenly curious as he hit the descending channel button. He leaned forward, elbows on knees as if getting closer would help him understand what he was seeing. Squinting first, his dark eyes shifted back and forth, trying to piece everything together. And then it clicked, his eyes growing wide.

"Izumo?" he called out the name long and a little on edge.

“Yeah?” came a voice somewhere behind him.

“Call Iruka.”

“What?” Izumo popped his head out of the bathroom. “Why?”

He’d do it himself but Iruka had become so fed up with being called for, he’ll admit, illegitimate reasons, that he no longer answered Kotetsu’s phone calls. Now he had to harass him through Izumo who acted like a filter for his less important inquiries.

Kotetsu turned to him, bewildered and in minor shock. He pointed at the screen. _“That's_ why.”

 

*~*~*

 

Iruka audibly cursed as his cell started ringing. He was in the midst of cutting up vegetables, particularly a hot pepper, but he figured, if it was important, they’d leave a voicemail. More importantly, he prayed it wasn’t the receptionist from the doctor’s office with some poor excuse to call him. He’d spent the better part of his check out pretending to be oblivious to her flirting. It felt rude to blow her off but he hadn’t actually _been_ rude about it. She probably just figured he was hopelessly clueless when it came to getting hit on.

After a few rings, the phone silenced, leaving just the sound of the knife chopping through vegetables and the TV on a commercial break. He was in a lighter mood now that he got the doctor’s appointment out of the way with relatively good news and decided to make a stir-fry. Spring break may be half over and he may not have done anything but finish grading papers, but he was enjoying the relaxation.

Until his phone started ringing again.

Frustrated, Iruka sighed and put the knife to the side, peeling off the gloves a second later (after the third time of making the mistake of rubbing his face after cutting a hot pepper, he bought a box of latex gloves.) It stopped ringing by the time he picked it up, Izumo’s name displayed with two missed calls. It must be serious if Izumo was being persistent.

He didn’t get a chance to return the call when it started ringing again. “Izumo? What is it? What’s wro-”

_“IRUKA!”_

He winced as Izumo’s voice cut through his head. Or maybe it was Kotetsu’s… or both… He could never tell when they shouted.

“You guys need to stop answering the phone with yelling-”

_“Iruka! Turn on the TV!”_

_“Yeah, turn it on! Izumo, is he doing it?”_

Iruka sighed. Clearly, this wasn’t important. “Guys, aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?”

_“Turn the damn TV on!”_

“Augh, it _is_ on!” Iruka snapped. “What did you guys do? I swear, if it’s some news report of the two of you making out on the beach, I’m going to murder you.”

_“No! What? No! Shut up!”_ Izumo flustered on the other end. _“Did you turn the TV on?”_

Iruka raised a hand in frustration, staring at the weekly weather report. “Yeah, it’s been on. What am I looking for?”

There was some muffling on the other end, Izumo getting information from Kotetsu before he came back, full of excitement. _“Go to channel forty-two!”_

Iruka did what he was told, albeit, with an exasperated sigh. So far, he wasn’t seeing anything to warrant being yelled at. “What is this? A sports channel?” The screen was currently displaying a few men at a desk discussing something, or rather, someone. There were stills and clips of a darker skinned… boxer? He wasn’t sure but the stadium set up looked like a fight ring. Iruka rolled his head to loosen his neck. “Am I going to see you guys on a kiss cam or something?”

_“Shut up and watch!”_ Izumo barked.

“I _am!”_ Seriously, they were supposed to be on vacation; why were they bothering him with this? “You know I don’t care about sports. I don’t even know what this is.”

Kotetsu shouted in the background and Izumo was right there a second later. _“Are you watching? Iruka, you better be fucking watching!”_ He sounded more desperate than when he first yelled but Iruka wasn’t seeing whatever they were seeing.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to-”

He stopped, nearly dropping the phone as the screen cut to a different person. Silver hair, a black mask and eyepatch; there was no mistaking it. The name _Kakashi Hatake_ was emblazoned on the bottom of the screen along with, what he assumed, were stats (though the numbers didn't make any sense to him.) Iruka stared at the television in disbelief as the show cut to a highlight reel of Kakashi fighting the darker skinned boxer from earlier and effectively knocking him out.

Was this the same man? The same Kakashi that was sweet and flirty?

Maybe ‘Kakashi’ was a last name and this was his twin... though… Iruka knew that was a _really_ reaching.

He was vaguely aware that his name was being called and he startled, shaking his head to snap himself out of the trance. “Y-yeah, what?” he said almost breathless into the phone.

_“That's_ him _, right?”_ Izumo hissed on the other end. _“That's the guy you slept with? The one from the café?”_

“I…”

They were suddenly fighting over the phone, Kotetsu becoming the clear winner as his voice came through loud and sharp.

_“Iruka, you slept with_ that? _The guy's jacked!”_

_“I know you said he was hot,”_ Izumo piped up, though a little more distant, _“but you didn't say he was shredded. Look at those abs! Look at them! You can count them!”_

Their TV must be a few seconds ahead because it was still the hosts talking at their conference table before it cut back to Kakashi in the fight ring with a different opponent. And yeah… he _could_ count the muscles that lined Kakashi's stomach.

_“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him the other day!”_ Kotetsu lamented. _“Someone always switches the TV in the break room to the sports channel. I’ve even_ seen _some of his fights! God, you're so lucky! Why didn't you tell us he was a famous MMA fighter?”_

“I… didn't know.” He honestly didn't, though now he at least understood why Kakashi looked familiar but couldn't place him. At some point he must have seen a commercial or maybe even an actual broadcasted fight at a bar but since he didn't really care for sports, he never paid much attention.

_“What? How could you not?”_ Kotetsu pressed.

Iruka groaned in annoyance. “Because he never told me. He just said he traveled a lot. I didn't ask for details.”

_“Iruka,”_ Izumo nearly shouted, _“I take back what I said about him being a bum because he's clearly not!”_ Iruka rolled his eyes but Izumo wasn't finished. _“But if I find out he forced himself on you and that's why you can't remember then I'll send Kotetsu to go kick his ass.”_

_“What? Why me? I'm not fighting_ that! _He could probably kill me with one punch!”_

“Guys-” They continued to bicker over the phone about protecting Iruka’s honor (or something - he wasn't really listening) until Iruka had enough. “Guys! Quit it! It doesn't matter because I'm not interested.”

There was an eerie silence on the other end and he wondered if they had caught his lie. He _was_ captivated by Kakashi the moment the man smiled and apologized for taking advantage of him (though he really hadn't - Iruka was pretty damn sure it was the other way around) but he had already drawn a line in the sand that he refused to cross.

_“What?”_

_“Why not?”_

They both asked at the same moment.

_“He's hot, he's probably pretty well off, he's_ clearly _into you,”_ Izumo listed off. _"Why would you let_ that _go?"_

Iruka was tired of having this argument. “You already know why. Stop worrying about me and enjoy your vacation.”

_“But, Iruka-”_

“Seriously, guys,” he cut them off. Anymore arguing and he'll lose his temper. “I can handle myself. If I feel like dating again, you'll be the first to know but right now I've got too much going on." There was a snort of disbelief on the other end but Iruka let it slide. "Now, I'm in the middle of cooking and _you two_ ," he emphasized calling them out, "are supposed to be enjoying your vacation so don't call me unless it's important."

Kotetsu mumbled something quickly followed by an 'ow.' The phone passed hands (or was forcefully taken) and Izumo was back, sighing dramatically as he spoke. _"Fine, fine. We get it. Just thought you'd like to know what you're missing out on. I mean,_ I'd _definitely tap that."_ Kotetsu whined in protest.

Izumo could egg him on all he wants, the answer was still ‘no.’ "I'm glad you're finally accepting your inner gay," Iruka teased, hoping that would shut him up. Then, in a tone that said he was done with the conversation, "You and Kotetsu enjoy the beach for me."

_"Alright, fine. See ya Monday, Iruka,"_ Izumo grumbled. Kotetsu said his goodbye as well and finally Iruka had some peace.

Up until his eyes were drawn back to the television.

As he stared, mesmerized by the highlight clips, Iruka couldn't help but gaze longingly at the rippling muscles that shone with sweat. Kakashi had just the perfect amount for his build and seeing him naked in bed had nothing on seeing him in action. God how he regretted his negligence. He just _had_ to let his stupid self get stupid drunk. The sex had to have been incredible - or maybe Kakashi was just as drunk and neither of them performed well. Either way, Iruka's body had been satiated and the stress alleviated, so it was a mission success.

He leaned against the back of the couch as the broadcast switched to an interview. Logic was telling Iruka to turn it off, that he didn't need to know more when they would probably never run into each other again. The café incident was just pure coincidence. They've never met one another before so why would it happen again?

But he was damned if he couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. He'd seen that handsome face. Probably kissed it too. And that body… He poked at his waist, knowing he was fit and the muscle was hidden under softer tissue but still a bit envious anyways.

He sighed. Life wasn't fair, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. Besides, his attraction was purely physical (or so he told himself) and Kakashi had said he traveled a lot. Iruka wasn't interested in a part time relationship. Not to mention the man probably had lovers on call all over the country.

Nope - he refused to fall victim to that charming smile.

And Kakashi was certainly lacking any charm on the screen. The black mask and eyepatch were firmly in place, the silver hair an unruly mess, and he was fully dressed, slouching in the foldable chair. Kakashi looked tired and bored and that he'd rather be anywhere else than sitting in front of a dozen flashing cameras.

_“How are you feeling about your upcoming fight with Darui Takeuchi?”_ someone in the crowd asked. Iruka sought out the remote and highered the volume as Kakashi lolled his head back.

_“Maa, I wish him the best of luck,”_ he responded flatly. God, he even _sounded_ bored. Nothing like the way he spoke the two times he’d been around Iruka.

_“The two of you have won every single match this season; what are you doing to prepare for the fight with him?”_

_“The same thing I always do.”_

_“Anything you’d like to-”_

_“Nope,”_ Kakashi interrupted and stood, the journalists suddenly clamoring for answers as Kakashi took his leave.

_Well that was rude of him,_ Iruka thought. Sure, being pestered with questions must get annoying but he could have handled it better.

The clip was cut and it was back to the hosts, one man shaking his head. _“Ah, that Hatake never changes.”_

_“They’re lucky they even got that much,”_ one of the others shrugged. _“Or that he even showed.”_

The third of the group was smiling wide, clearly amused. _“Darui isn’t much better, though at least he sticks around. But he and Hatake seem to have the same personality. I’m actually looking forward to their match.”_

_“Well, the two of them have been undefeated this season but Hatake has the experience. It’ll be an interesting match for sure.”_

Music picked up and the hosts began announcing what was coming up next before it switched to commercial. Iruka brought the volume back down, pondering what he’d just watched before changing it back to the news.

Kakashi Hatake - now he had a full name - and it belonged to someone who fights professionally. That part didn’t quite appeal to Iruka. Violence never sat well with him even though he, himself, wasn't a saint.

He sighed, dropping the remote onto the cushions before he returned to the kitchen counter. In the end, it doesn’t matter who Kakashi is - it was a one-time thing; over and done with.


	4. Afternoon Banter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments and kudos! And your patience. I've got like, twenty other fics amassing in my head and only little parts written down so I don't forget them and then I end up more absorbed in the new one than the one I've already fleshed out and old ones are left to collect cobwebs. My google docs are a disaster.  
> Anyways, enjoy Kakashi's perspective!

The weather was perfect for a run, which was exactly why Kakashi was out enjoying the brisk air. It was only the first week of May, the summer heat hadn't quite rolled in yet but give it another month and he'll be sticking to the treadmill in a nice air-conditioned room. 

The park was looking alive now that the trees had finally grown in all of their leaves and he wasn't the only one jogging along the path and enjoying the nice weather. It wasn’t necessarily crowded, but there were a few moments in which he had to veer off to pass the casual walkers or avoid a collision with someone jogging the opposite direction. Kakashi much preferred it a month or so ago when it was still too cold for most people, only the truly dedicated making use of the park walkways. He liked those people. They were there for the run and nothing else.

Beside him, Uhei and Akino synced with Kakashi's pace, their little claws clicking against the cement walkway. Their energy was beginning to run out as they neared the half hour mark of continuous running and they were panting as fast as their paws touched the ground. 

They should consider themselves lucky _he_ was the one walking them and not Guy. After the first time Guy took a few of his dogs with him on a run, none of them willingly let the man close ever again. Kakashi felt a little bad - for about a second. Never is his house so quiet and peaceful as it is after the dogs have had a day out with Guy and he took every opportunity to dump them on his friend if the offer was made.

Kakashi began looking for a water fountain, spotting one not too far ahead. The two dogs were grateful for the slowed pace, his run morphing into a jog and then finally a walk as the fountain was within reach.

As was someone else.

On the bench, a person sat, a messenger bag lying open filled with papers while a stack was already currently in their lap. They sported a light jacket and loose jeans and a pair of well-worn sneakers that should probably be replaced. Chocolate brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and their body hunched over the paperwork while a red pen marked the page on top.

Kakashi's first thought was, _No way. It can't be him._ But at the same time, that defining scar across his nose couldn't be anyone else.

He chanced it. “Iruka?”

The man looked up and there was no mistaking it: the curious soft expression could belong to no other than the middle school teacher. How he hadn’t noticed Iruka before this escaped him (not that he was keeping count but Tobirama Square wasn’t that big and he had to be on his fourth lap by now.) But then again, he had a habit of putting on a filter to the faces around him – always aware of their presence, never looking them in the eye. Kakashi found it effective in avoiding conversation.

Now wasn’t one those times.

It had been nearly a month since Kakashi had last seen Iruka but that wasn't because he had been actively evading the man like he usually does with his associates. No, he'd been busy across the country in Kumo City for a fight and had been dragged to the conference afterwards by Tenzou. He'd almost escaped too.

Then he'd spent the next two weeks at the house living the life of a recluse until he finally reached peak stir crazy and needed to get out of the isolation. What better way to tire himself out than to be amongst the populace? People were exhausting to be around even if he never interacted with them but there were a select few whose company he enjoyed. And a teacher was rapidly becoming one of them.

“Kakashi?” Iruka asked in dumbfounded surprise.

“Yo,” Kakashi gave a two-finger salute in greeting. He smiled at Iruka, completely forgetting that he had a pair of nosy dogs that were very curious about the stranger. Iruka had been too preoccupied studying Kakashi to notice the wet noses sniffing him until one decided to jump up. Iruka yelped and Kakashi tugged the leashes. “No, Uhei, down!” The dog obeyed but kept a pleading look on Iruka.

Iruka chuckled softly. “It's okay. So long as they're friendly.” He held out a hand for the dogs to sniff.

“They are but they know better than to jump on people,” Kakashi sighed.

The smile on Iruka's face widened with a low throaty laugh rumbling through him as the dogs licked his hand and demanded pets. “They're just saying hello.”

“Hm,” he grunted nonchalantly, watching the display. Iruka liked dogs? This was good. Good. Kakashi had more than enough canine companions to use as secret weapons. He was already calculating which of his eight dogs would become Iruka’s favorite when it registered that he was being asked a question. He blinked, getting his head on straight. “Sorry, what was that?”

Iruka looked up at him for the second time before returning his attention to scratching the tops of the dogs’ heads. “What’re their names?”

“Ah,” Kakashi sounded. He should have predicted this. Asking the names and breeds of pets was always one of the first things people asked when greeting an animal. He pointed at each of them. “That one is Akino and the one with bad manners is Uhei.”

Iruka hid his grin with a pout as he ruffled Uhei's ears. “Aw, he's a good boy. He’s just excited is all.” Uhei circled at Iruka’s feet before leaning his back against the man’s legs, head tilted back and tongue lolling out.

_Attention hog,_ Kakashi mused.

“What kind of dogs are they?”

“The stupid kind,” Kakashi answered on reflex. Iruka found his response only a little amusing, but mostly 'awed' as he scratched Uhei harder, telling the dog that he wasn't dumb. Kakashi shook his head, passing it off as a joke. “Nah, they aren't that bright but they listen.” He shrugged. “But I don't expect much from mutts.”

“They seem pretty well behaved to me,” Iruka commented. “Specially this one,” he said as he scratched Akino.

Akino was enjoying the petting, leaning up into Iruka's hand, but he turned to Kakashi expectantly. “Ah, right,” Kakashi mumbled under his breath. He had forgotten the entire reason they’d stopped. He pulled the portable nylon dog bowl out of his back pocket and both dogs immediately vacated Iruka's presence as they watched him fill it up.

“A collapsible dog bowl? That's pretty ingenious,” Iruka commented.

“Yeah, thanks. I've made millions off of it.”

The look of surprise on Iruka's face was worth it. “Wow, really?”

Kakashi snorted as he held back his laugh. “No, but I'm sure whoever did is living comfortably.” Iruka seemed unimpressed by his joke – maybe even a little annoyed at how easily he fell for it. He hoped Iruka wasn’t shallow enough to only care about money.

Both dogs rushed the bowl as he placed it on the ground, lapping it up a little too fast. “Slow down,” Kakashi scolded. “You're going to make yourselves sick.” As if proving his point, Uhei gagged before going back to drinking. Kakashi sighed, baffled by the dog’s behavior, and shook his head. Iruka laughed quietly as he witnessed their eagerness.

“Do you like dogs?” Kakashi asked, hoping to break the ice a little.

Iruka shrugged. “I guess so. I've never had one though I sometimes imagined myself with a lab or golden retriever when I was younger.” He was watching the two canines continue to lick the bowl dry, amused with how they looked up at Kakashi, drool pooling off their muzzles, asking for more. 

Kakashi obliged, filling it up again as he continued, “Do you have any pets?”

Iruka shook his head. “No, my apartment doesn't allow animals. And I'd feel bad having them locked up in a tiny apartment all day.” He suddenly became nervous as he met Kakashi’s eyes and he glanced around quickly. “Should you- Uh… Should you be out in public so casually?”

Kakashi studied him, confused, raising an eyebrow. “Why wouldn't I-” It suddenly dawned on him. “Ah, you figured out who I was.”

Iruka blushed, suddenly bashful and scratched at the edge of the scar on his cheek. “Yeah- well, my friend actually did. He saw you on TV and couldn't wait to tell me.”

If Kakashi had to guess, it was one of the two he met at the café. Probably the security guard - he looked like he knew he'd seen Kakashi somewhere. Damn, he'd hoped to avoid this – people always changed when they learned who he really was. 

Kakashi offered a half shrug, slipping his hands into his pockets as he stared off elsewhere. “Maa, I’m not that popular. If I were a movie star or professional sports player, then maybe walking around would be a problem. But MMA is a pretty niche market with an even smaller following. I don't typically get recognized.”

“Oh, I see,” Iruka deflated. He didn't seem as nervous now; perhaps Kakashi downplaying his popularity put a damper on his hopes for knowing someone famous. But then he brightened, smiling up at Kakashi. “That's probably a good thing, actually. I feel bad for the celebrities who can't ever get any privacy. I don't know why people feel the need to know every little detail about a complete stranger.”

"Mm," Kakashi agreed nonchalantly. Everyone seemed to have that opinion and couldn't wait to broadcast that they don't care about so-and-so's life, and yet, they knew everything that was being said in tabloid magazines or click bait websites. Liars – all of them. People were naturally curious and prided themselves on their individual knowledge and always seemed to want to insert themselves into other people's lives. No one was genuine - everyone was selfish.

His thought process soured his mood. All because of Iruka's cliché opinion. What did it matter – the man was bound to find out sooner or later. It was probably better that Kakashi killed off his interest in the schoolteacher now before he invested any more of his time in him.

He closed his eye, feeling the soft breeze make his hair dance. Despite how many people were out enjoying the weather, the park was pleasantly quiet. And Iruka's presence was oddly calming. Yeah, he should definitely go.

The dogs, on the other hand, had the opposite idea. Akino and Uhei collapsed by Iruka's feet, Akino opting to lay in the shade of the bench while Uhei had his rear end sticking out. Iruka laughed at their display of fast panting but otherwise dead appearance and grinned up at Kakashi.

"I think they're tired," he said cheekily.

"Maa," Kakashi sighed. A few extra minutes wouldn't kill him. "I suppose they deserve a break.” He eyed the bench that was mostly occupied by non-living things. “Mind if I take a seat?” he asked, pointing lazily at the bench.

“No, not at all,” Iruka smiled until he spotted the mess. “Oh! Shoot, sorry,” he apologized in his scramble to make space. The leather messenger bag was pulled close to his side, the stacks of papers quickly shoved inside save for the current pile on his lap. A hand went to the back of Iruka’s head and he rubbed it, looking sheepish. “Sorry, I uh… I have a tendency to take over any free space with work.”

“S’alright,” Kakashi groaned as he stretched against the bench, slouching into the seat. He hung his elbows over the back and gazed at the few passing clouds. It really was a nice day.

Silence washed over the two, the dogs panting underneath them and Iruka, after realizing there wasn’t much conversation to be had, returned to scribbling away. It was rude to ignore the man, but… he felt a little let down. Surprised Iruka didn’t try to engage further, but disappointed that he was turning into all the other blank faces out there.

Kakashi slid his eyes to the paperwork after he heard a rather frustrated sigh. Maybe he should try not to be a dick for once. “I’m going to take a wild guess,” he began, raising his head up to look at the teacher, “and say your students aren’t meeting your standards.”

Iruka chuckled nervously. “No, they’re good kids just…” He had a pained grin as he turned to Kakashi. “I wish having decent handwriting was still a requirement.” Kakashi quirked a brow resulting in the schoolteacher shaking his head. “You’d think I’d learn not to give surprise written essays so I can at least understand what they’re trying to say.”

Kakashi smirked. “It can’t be _that_ bad. Though you’ll probably never want to see my handwriting. I’d hate for you to think less of me.”

An adorable laugh escaped Iruka. “I might judge but I wouldn’t think less of you. Besides,” he said with a grin and lifted the paper to show Kakashi. “It can’t be worse than this.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Kakashi extended a hand. “May I?”

Iruka snorted. “If you can make sense of it, be my guest.”

The essay in hand, Kakashi began reading it and immediately regretted volunteering. It was definitely a book report but… he had to make guesses on some words and others were just scribbles. None of it was making much sense and it took several attempts to make coherent sentences. Kakashi sucked his teeth. “Yeah, this is pretty bad,” he agreed and handed the student’s paper back. “You’ll be glad to know my handwriting is at least legible.”

“I would hope so. You are an adult.”

“Mmm. And as an adult, I can hire people to write things for me.”

“Is your handwriting _that_ _bad_ or are you just lazy?”

Kakashi chuckled. “Maybe a bit of both.”

Iruka eyed him skeptically before sighing dramatically. “And the illusion is shattered.”

“Illusion?”

“Yeah, you as Mister Perfect.”

“Mister Perfect…” Kakashi’s steeled his expression, taking on his usual drawl that aggravated Tenzou. “I’m far from perfect.” He stretched out like a cat, tipping his head back. “Besides, I’m sure you know everything about me.”

“What? How? This is like our… third time meeting?” Iruka said indignantly.

Kakashi’s brow knitted together.

“I mean, all I know is what you’ve told me.”

Kakashi snapped up. “You mean, you haven’t looked me up on the internet?” That was a lie, right? 

“No?” Iruka questioned unsteadily. “Sorry, I don’t really know anything. Kotet- My friend, Kotetsu, says you’re a famous… um… fighter?” He cringed at his lack of knowledge, which Kakashi wasn’t willing to believe. “I apologize, but I don’t really follow sports. The most knowledge I have is on soccer, or _fūtbol_ as I’ve been berated on, and that’s only because I’ve been dragged to too many game nights.”

Speechless, Kakashi’s mind reeled in his mouth’s place. Iruka didn’t look him up because he had no interest in sports? That normally didn’t matter to people because the internet held more than just his win/loss ratios. It had just about everything. Or was Iruka just not interested? No, that wouldn’t have mattered. People are naturally curious. And one would think a schoolteacher would have a thirst for knowledge.

“So you’ve…” Kakashi lost the words and started laughing, initially beginning with a breathy chuckle before throwing his head back as the audacity of finding someone who didn’t stalk him consumed him. “You are,” he said as he regained control of himself. Iruka was looking irritated as if Kakashi had insulted him and Kakashi needed to clear the air. “One of a kind, Iruka.”

The scowl deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he responded sharply.

Kakashi waved him off. “Maa, maa. Just… I don’t get very many people who don’t end up star struck.”

“Star struck?” Iruka shook his head with the same insulted tone. “I thought you just said you weren’t all that famous.”

“Ah, well…” Shit; he had him there. Kakashi stammered trying to find the right words that _wouldn’t_ come out as an insult. It usually didn’t matter if people weren’t interested in MMA. All it took was one search on social media and he had another _‘fan’_ fawning over him. But Iruka didn’t. And if he had, he didn’t care.

A snort broke Kakashi’s fumbling and he glanced over to see Iruka trying to hide a grin behind a hand. “Sorry, you just seemed so lost I couldn’t help teasing you.”

Kakashi felt his cheeks grow warm. He’d fallen for a prank? But that face had looked _so angry._ And now playful brown eyes were laughing him at. His heart picked up the pace. That tears it - he now knew for sure that he was infatuated.

He had to think fast to avoid any more blundering so he grinned under the mask, taking on a pout before his usual wise-ass tone kicked in. “Hmm. Laughing at me... You should let me take you out to dinner to make it up to me.”

Iruka flushed red, making the scar across his face stick out. His lips pursed and he shyly avoided eye contact. “You started it. You laughed at _me_ first. And nice try but it’s still a ‘no.’”

“Maa,” Kakashi sighed, letting his head drop back. “I’m starting to think you _do_ remember that night and didn’t like my performance.”

“I can assure you,” Iruka responded, even the tips of his ears beet red, “that I do not remember and am blissfully okay with not knowing whatever embarrassing things I did or said.”

“Hmm?” Kakashi hummed, dying to tease the man. “Are you sure? I remember it quite vividly.”

“Yes. Very.”

Kakashi leaned forwards off the back of the bench, elbows on his thighs as he hunched over, loosely entwining his fingers together. Iruka was still a deep crimson, trying to look absorbed in his grading and pointedly _not_ looking Kakashi’s way. It only fueled his desire to harass even further.

“What if we run into each other again?” Kakashi asked, drawing a side-glance from the other man. “Will you allow me to ask you out then?”

Iruka gave a breathy chuckle. _“You,”_ he emphasized, “are very persistent. And I’m starting to think I’ll have to take extreme measures to actively avoid you.” He was grinning while he said it, face still a little flushed.

“Well,” Kakashi raised a shoulder, growing cheeky. “Do you come to this park often?”

“When the mood strikes me.”

“Then you’re in luck. I usually go to the one on Shodai. It has better trails for the dogs but they recently closed it for construction.” And if he was remembering correctly… Kakashi tilted his head Iruka’s way. “It’s also closer to the middle school, isn’t it?”

Iruka’s expression faltered for a moment, almost as if a flicker of dread passed through his eyes before he covered it up with a smile. “You are correct. It is near the middle school.”

“I’m surprised you don’t go to that one. Or are you forced to go here because of the construction as well?”

“N-no, I… I don’t really like that park all that much.” Iruka stammered. The shy embarrassment had been replaced with a different form of nervousness. Iruka seemed almost bothered but he persevered with a smile. “It’s a little further from home and a uh… there’s a higher chance of running into students there. This one’s just… better.”

Kakashi grunted in understanding though he disagreed. The wooded trails of Shodai Park were a lot nicer than the crowded walkways of Tobirama Square and he had a lingering feeling that Iruka’s excuse wasn’t the whole truth. But he wasn’t going to pressure the man any further.

“Maa, well, for the time being, it seems I’m stuck coming to this one. Which means, we may run into each other once again.” He grinned unabashedly at Iruka even if it was hidden under the mask.

Iruka picked up on his thought process anyways and snickered as he shook his head. “Is that so?”

“Mmm. Unless you take those extreme measures.”

“I just might.”

Kakashi opened his mouth to continue their banter when a loud ringtone interrupted. Surprised at first, Iruka quickly scrambled to pull his cellphone out of his pocket while simultaneously keeping the paperwork from falling off his lap. The dogs were alerted to the sudden change in sounds too, rolling onto their bellies and looking alert.

“Oh, shoot! Is it this late already?” He silenced the alarm and began shoving the essays into his bag. “Sorry, I’ve got a tutoring lesson to get to,” Iruka apologized, slinging the bag over a shoulder once he was on his feet. “It was nice seeing you again, Kakashi.”

“Maa. Same.” Damn it. And they actually had something going. Iruka hadn’t once pulled his phone out which meant his urgency hadn’t been orchestrated. _And_ he’d been denied another date. Kakashi wasn’t usually this persistent, or, well, actually he never asked anyone out without the recipient already eager. But there was something about Iruka that drew his curiosity and not just because of that first night of anonymous sex. 

Iruka gave a better goodbye to the dogs than him, petting and telling them that they were good boys. Then he waved and said his farewell to Kakashi before jogging up the hill to the parking lot.

Kakashi watched, not so subtly checking Iruka out before he turned his eye on the mutts. Uhei and Akino tilted their heads, looking to him, wondering what was next. “You guys think you’re so damn cute, huh? Stealing all the attention.” Uhei’s tail thumped, completely oblivious to Kakashi’s insinuation.

Was he jealous of his dogs? Kakashi liked to think he wasn’t. Most absolutely. Maybe a little envious…

Oh, who was he kidding?


	5. A Wasted Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your guys's praise and support has been amazing! I wish I had more time to write!

 

A phone slid over the student’s test, a picture of a more flattering shot of Kakashi on the screen. It was just from the collarbone up, but the image was still sexy and alluring even with the winking scarred eye and mask.

_“Hey there, cutie,”_ said a low husky voice - a very poor attempt at mimicking Kakashi. _“Why don’t you let me take you out. Dinner, movies, and afterwards the best ball-slapping sex you could ever imagine.”_

Iruka inhaled as deeply as he could manage and released the breath slowly. It was his only available method of calming his rising anger and _only_ because he was in the school cafeteria amongst his students and peers. He wouldn’t dare cause a scene so instead he opted to shift, just his eyes, onto Izumo, glaring daggers.

“Oh, come on, Iruka,” Izumo rebuked in his normal voice. “Lighten up.”

Straightening back, Iruka kept a firm glare, aggressively but slowly placing his hands on the table. He motioned to the phone. “Do you mind?”

Izumo rolled his eyes. “Good _God_ , you’re in a mood,” he admonished while retrieving his phone off the math test. Then he paused and with a leer, said, “You know what will make you feel better?”

“Dont,” Iruka warned.

“Getting la~id,” he sang, shaking the phone back and forth with Kakashi’s image still on display.

“I _will_ murder you,” Iruka growled.

“Think about killing me _after_ you find this guy and fuck him again,” Izumo responded and swiped at the phone screen.

“Come on! We’re at school!” Iruka hissed.

“So?” he responded with a raised eyebrow. “Do you think any of these little shits give a fuck?” He showed Iruka another image on his phone, one of Kakashi mid punch. The photo had even captured the sweat flying off his arm. “How about this one? Imagine being swept up in those strong arms and-” He took a moment to zoom in on Kakashi’s waist. “Huh? Huh?” he prodded. “He’s even got some faint V-lines. Gives you something to look at when going down-”

Iruka slammed a hand on top of Izumo’s, knocking the phone flat onto the table and covering it. “Jesus, you’re perverted mind is getting worse,” he derided. “You used to get all embarrassed talking about these things.” Iruka always felt like he had an ally in Izumo when it came to keeping private affairs private. That had recently changed and steadily grown worse.

And Iruka knew, right at this moment, he was blushing hard from embarrassment (and a little anger) and no amount of shielding his face from the rest of the cafeteria would hide that.

Izumo snorted. “You know it’s Kotetsu’s fault, right?”

Sighing, Iruka released his friend and the phone and buried his face in his hands. “Yeah… I know. He never had much of a filter but I can’t believe how much he’s corrupted you.”

"Eh, more like I've adjusted to his shit and learned to roll with it," Izumo shrugged. Then he took a moment swiping at his phone before he, yet again, turned it around with another photo of Kakashi. This one was posed, shirtless, a slouched posture but his abdominal muscles were flexed. He was holding a jacket slung over his shoulder, other hand with just the fingers in his pants pocket (which were hung low on his hips), wearing black fingerless gloves. The silver hair was somewhat tamed but even in this one he wore the face mask. At least the eye patch was gone but the eye was closed.

Izumo grinned, satisfied that Iruka couldn't resist looking at the photo. "Come on, Iruka," he chastised, taking the phone back. "At least _try_ fucking him again. That way-"

"Izumo, watch your language, _please!"_ Iruka begged.

He received a roll of the eyes. "Oh, for fuck's sake, Iruka." Now he was being crass on purpose. "Remember there was a time when you had the worst mouth out of all of us?"

"Ha. Yeah." Iruka deadpanned. "Remember, there was a time where I wasn't in charge of teaching children and could say whatever I wanted? I remember those times too."

"Mm. And then you turned into a real tight ass who's no fun anymore."

"Well excuse me for becoming a responsible adult."

Izumo leaned into his palm. "I think you mean boring." While Iruka scowled, the computer teacher glanced at his phone briefly and then turned it around to share. Another photo of Kakashi half naked. "Just fuck him again so you can at least remember it this time."

_"God,_ you are _just_ as persistent as he is," Iruka grumbled, and then stiffened as he realized his mistake. A grin spread across his friend's face as Iruka slowly met the mischievous leer.

"What do you mean, Iruka?" he purred.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, ducking down.

"No, no, no. It's not _'nothing.'_ It's _something_. Spill it."

"It's _nothing_ ," he said more firmly.

Izumo's eyes grew wide as he drew his own conclusions. "You're seeing him, aren't you?" he asked excitedly.

"I am _not!_ We just…" He scratched at the scar across his face. "We ran into each other at the park and he asked me out again. But I told him 'no,'" Iruka quickly added to diminish Izumo's rush of excitement.

The computer lab teacher eyed him suspiciously. "So it wasn't a date, but he asked you out and you denied him?" He pulled his phone up and shoved the photo of Kakashi in Iruka's face. "You denied _that?"_

"Yes," Iruka growled. "Because one: I'm not looking for a relationship or some casual sex friend, and two: I had to bail before I was late for Naruto's tutoring session."

"To hell with Naruto. Kid's gotta learn to fend for himself. I can't believe you're still teaching him."

"He still struggles with math and finals are coming up," Iruka said as he went on the defensive. "He asked for help because he doesn't want to fail and he's doing really well.”

“Okay, sure, sure,” Izumo nodded, dismissing Iruka completely. “But then there’s _this.”_ He shoved a new shirtless photo into Iruka’s face. “Please tell me how tutoring is somehow better than hooking up with _that._ ‘Cause I mean, _damn.”_

Iruka sighed in defeat and rested his chin in his palm. “Does Kotetsu know you’re cheating on him over pictures of someone else?”

Izumo snorted. “You kidding? He was wondering if you’d like to have a four way.”

A few sputtering sounds escaped Iruka before he flat out tried to deny it but stopped midway, burying his face in his hands. “He’d totally be up for that, wouldn’t he.”

“Yeeeaaaahh,” Izumo dragged out with a hint of amusement. “Pretty sure Kotetsu’s hoping for it.”

“Not gonna happen,” Iruka responded flatly. 

“Eh,” Izumo whined. “It could be just like old times. And you don’t have to date the guy to have a foursome.”

“I can’t believe you’re on board with that idea.”

Izumo shrugged. “I don’t know. It worked out well for the three of us.”

Iruka rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Yeah, sure, old times were great.” _Until I started to become the third wheel,_ he left unsaid. But he couldn’t be angry about that part of their past. He was happy for his two closest friends and it took them long enough to admit their feelings.

Izumo was back to, what Iruka could only assume, stalking Kakashi on his phone so he resumed his grading. It didn’t last long because Izumo chuckled and said, “Kotetsu says you’re being a killjoy.”

“You’re texting him on this?!”

With a half shrug, Izumo saw nothing wrong. “I tell him everything.”

Exasperated, Iruka put his pen down. “Why am I friends with you guys, again?”

“Because you don’t have a social life outside of us, ergo, you can’t meet anyone new to find as replacements.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Iruka nodded as if it was all coming together, and picked his pen back up. “Remind me to make new friends.”

“I’ll get right on that, starting with…” He wiggled his eyebrows at Iruka.

“Drop it. Seriously.”

“Come _on,_ Iruka. You bragged about how hot and sweet he was and you won’t even give the guy a second chance? Did you just make the whole thing up?”

“No- It’s…” He went with the first thing that came to his mind. “He’s out of my league.”

Izumo opened his mouth to say something but hesitated. Dark eyes shifted back and forth as he ran some internal calculations before squinting suspiciously Iruka’s way. “But… he’s asking _you_ out. So, clearly he doesn’t think that.” He pulled his phone back up, making some taps and swipes. “Besides, he’s actually had a pretty sad life," Izumo added. 

"That's his business. I don't want to know," he said, remembering how standoffish Kakashi became after thinking Iruka knew everything about him.

"Why not? I mean, you can find everything about him. Like, he lost his parents pretty early on - he's an orphan like you."

"Oh, yay! We have so much in common," Iruka faked excitement. He dropped his forced smile. “Seriously. I don't. Want. To. Know."

Izumo made a fart noise and booed Iruka. "Why not?"

"The less I know, the easier it is to forget about him."

"Why would you want to do that?" Izumo blinked. "Oh, shit - you actually kinda like him, don't you?"

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It _does_ matter. Iruka, you’re killing me.” Izumo sat back, shaking his head.

Instead of arguing like he instinctively felt compelled to, Iruka sighed instead. “Yeah, sure. _I’m_ killing _you,”_ he grumbled. “I just want to get this work done so I have less to do this weekend.”

“So responsible,” Izumo quipped.

“Well, one of us has to be. And not all of us have a computer do the work for them.”

“Don’t be jealous,” he grinned. He knew it irked Iruka just the right way on how all of his grading is done with online tests and in-class assignments. So long as the students did the work, it might as well be a pass/fail class. And here Iruka was running _two_ classes with never ending worksheets and tests. Sometimes he was left wondering if he’ll die from an avalanche of paperwork. 

“Oh, speaking of responsibilities,” Izumo suddenly changed gears. “Genma won’t be able to make it next Friday.”

“Yeah?” Iruka actually tuned into this conversation. Anything that wasn’t about Kakashi was welcomed at this point. “Did we scare him off?”

“Nah, I guess he had already agreed to cover someone’s shift before Kotetsu invited him.”

“I’d say Anko was maybe too much for him but he seemed to find her annoyingly entertaining,” Iruka commented, remembering how Genma seemed to laugh at every antic Anko had been up to that night. Actually, the man found just about everything funny to some degree. 

It was a shame he couldn’t make their next outing. Iruka rather liked Genma. The man was incredibly laid-back and had no problem being comfortable in the presence of new people even after learning everyone’s sexuality. 

He had already known Kotetsu was gay but hadn’t officially met Izumo the boyfriend until that night, only seeing him dropping off or picking up Kotetsu on occasion. Iruka would have kept his own preferences to himself had Kotetsu (if not him, Anko would have blurted it to the whole bar) not drunkenly revealed him as bi, to which Genma just shrugged and didn’t treat him any different. 

He could appreciate that. A lot of men grew a little tense around him when they found out he swung both ways until it became clear that Iruka had no interest in them. But Genma was one of the few who didn’t do a double take or question him or ask how Iruka rated him. He just quietly continued conversation, drank his beer, and let Anko talk his ear off.

“Don’t even go down that road,” Izumo sighed, shaking his head.

Iruka made a face. “What road?”

“Hooking those two up.”

“Anko and Genma? I wasn’t going to.”

“Good, ‘cause Kotetsu apparently tried fishing for details on what Genma thought of her and he just said she was amusing and wasn’t bothered and next time he’ll bring his girlfriend.”

“Ah,” Iruka nodded. “Well, to be fair, I don’t think Anko was into him. She needs someone who can keep up with her and he seemed kinda…” He searched for the right word but Izumo beat him to it.

“Carefree?”

“Eh, I was thinking more: easy-going. He just kind of flowed with the energy of everybody.”

“I can see it,” Izumo agreed. “Though God help us on whomever Anko _does_ settle for.”

Iruka burst out laughing in total agreement, reminiscing on some of the guys she's hooked up with. They were an odd batch, some meek and shy, others almost just as crazy, but none of them could keep her entertained long enough for her to keep around. 

It was only the sound of the bell that interrupted them, Iruka and Izumo both going their separate ways to return to class. He didn’t get nearly as much grading done as he should have but he did have a free period before the end of the day to hopefully get it all set and done.

 

However, that had not held true.

Later that night, no thanks to Izumo for distracting him during his one free period (his own fault for having an open door policy), Iruka finally finished inputting all of the grades for two of his pre-algebra classes and hit the submit button. He breathed out in relief only to groan a moment later as he realized the time. He was so glad he’d taken a shower after dinner so he wasn’t going to bed with wet hair. 

He moved to close his laptop but paused. Something Izumo had said had been bothering him all day, only made worse when his so-called friend had come to further antagonize him that afternoon.

It was wrong, he knew, but curiosity was getting the better of him. And he _really_ did like Kakashi.

Iruka opened up a new tab and began typing Kakashi’s name in the search engine. Apparently Kakashi wasn’t a very common name because the auto fill immediately placed _Hatake_ after it.

Damn Izumo and baiting him like this. 

He almost finished typing when he decided to glance down at the suggested searches. _Kakashi Hatake’s age; Kakashi Hatake’s face without mask; Kakashi Hatake’s next fight._ A few other searches below those were specifically him versus someone else’s name Iruka didn’t recognize. 

His finger hovered over the enter key, bouncing in his debate on pressing it. He _did_ and _didn’t_ want to know about the man who was persistently trying to know him. Kakashi really had been charming that not-quite-regretful morning but… The image of Kakashi losing his enthusiasm after Iruka had mentioned who he was made up his mind for him. The delete key was pressed instead and he closed out the tab then shut down the laptop. He respected Kakashi’s privacy and that was that.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izumo has Iruka's best interests at heart, I swear.
> 
> Also, the next chapter will make up for how short this one is.


End file.
